Run, You Wicked Souls
by DestinyIgnites
Summary: HIATUS. Klaus makes yet another kill. Angry, the witches strip Klaus and Caroline of their vampire powers, as punishment. Needless to say, this kill triggers a series of unpleasant and dangerous events, forcing Caroline and Klaus to flee Mystic Falls. With no powers and a promise of a tortured eternity, they run. How will they cope, when they have no choice but to trust each other?
1. Run Away

**Okay, so I posted a preview of this on my tumblr (destinyignites) and some said they wanted to read it, so I'm posting it here. Please please PLEASE review and let me know what you think. I'm a few chapters ahead on this fic, but I don't want to post it if no one is interested in reading it. Please let me know! **

**Side note: The first chapter is a bit confusing, because it flows in and out of flashbacks. Also, the Klaroline scene in 3x21 has been altered. You'll see...**

**Hope you guys don't hate this!**

* * *

She felt trapped. There was no way out. The air seemed thick around her and she twiddled her thumbs nervously, in an attempt to keep herself together. Her eyes searched for Klaus. She found him – it wasn't much of a search, seeing as the room was small and he was sitting near her. He sat up, tall and composed, as though he feared nothing. Maybe, he didn't. His eyes looked straight ahead and his expression was hard and still. He didn't appear to be upset, or angry, or even worried. He gave nothing away to anyone who looked at him. Silently, she wished she could be like that – able to keep that same fearless expression. Their eyes found each other and his expression softened, only for a long second. In an odd way, it reassured her that they would be okay. They held a promise. Was she stupid for believing him?

_"It's okay. It's okay, it's me. You're safe." _

His words echoed in her mind. His warm hands lightly came around her mouth, silencing a scream. The sound of his voice calmed her, at that moment. The reassurance of safety was wonderful, especially after being tortured by her good-turned-psycho history teacher. She allowed herself to relax into him, only a little bit. No one was there, but them. She wasn't hurting anyone by allowing herself to be comforted by his words. She was safe.

"You go straight home. You stay inside, do you understand?"

The protection with which he said those words was surprising. She said nothing, clinging on to the sound of his voice. At the feeling of his hands tighten at her arms, she gasped. He spun her around to face him. His expression was firm and for a moment it appeared as though he was a parent speaking to a child.

"Do you understand me?"

The intensity in his eyes was unexplainable. Could he truly care for her, even a little bit? Could it be that the few moments they shared were not a game or part of a greater plan? He appeared to be genuinely concerned. It occurred to her, more than ever before, that there was humanity in that black heart of his. A part of her hated him for showing his humanity to her. It was difficult to hate him when he looked at her like that.

A look of uncertainty crossed his face and she felt his hand on her back. He guided her around the school, until they got to the attic of the school. It was a part of the school she didn't even know existed. "Wait for me," he told her. It was with those words, contradicting the previous ones he said to her, that she realized he did not trust that she would get home safely alone.

"I will come back for you. Wait here."

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Much like right now, he said nothing back and he didn't have to. That small moment, that small look, was enough to show he cared. He looked away from her and she felt uncertainty run through her veins again.

* * *

"Blondie!"

Caroline turned around, not to the word blondie but, to the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Seeing a man with dark features looking at her, she raised her chin up and faked confidence. _Great, just what I need after a day like this._

"Can I help you?"

She wasn't quite sure if the stranger had replied to her, because everything following her words happened rapidly, almost in only a single breath. She found herself gripping at his shoulders, trying to fight him off. Shouldn't be a problem, right? She was a vampire, after all. Wrong. He was strong. She heard his heart beating, letting her know that the man attacking her was not a vampire. She had no time to figure it out. She felt him slide a hand between her legs, backing her up against a tree. She screamed at him to stop, but her only response was the echo of her own voice. She gathered all her strength and pushed him off her. She succeeded and he flew a few steps away from her. As he got up, she prepared to do it again.

In a flash another dark figure appeared. Her dead heart raced and she wondered if she would be able to take on two of them. She mouthed a silent "What?" at the sight of the newest figure fighting with the man who was attacking her. Her blurry vision became clearer and she that it was Klaus. Before she could make a move, she saw Klaus reach a hand into the man's chest. He wasted no time making a sharp twist and pulling out his heart. He did this with ease, as though he had done it millions of times before. He probably has. It scared her, his darkness. She stood still, torn between gratefulness and fear. It was the second time today that he's come to her rescue.

Klaus kicked the man to the floor, effortlessly. "Are you okay?" He asked Caroline.

She was in shock at the quickness of the events. "Yes," she lied. _Sure, why wouldn't I be? This happens everyday, _she thought sarcastically_._

He raised his bloody hand, looking at it for a moment. He brought it down, about half an inch, and then back up. He wiped it on the dead man's shirt and she didn't seem to bat an eye at this.

"I told you to wait for me!" He hissed at her, now angry that she had not listened to him.

"You were taking forever. I got bored."

"_Bored?_" His eyes widened at her. "When I tell you to do something, please do it!"

"I know you're a billion years old, but can I introduce you to the 21st century where women don't do everything a man tells them to? Throwing a fancy please in there doesn't make it any less of a command and I don't answer to you." She fearlessly took a step towards him.

He took a step towards her in response. "Now, thanks to your newly found liberty, you almost got yourself killed."

He was right and she knew it. She stumbled her way into a response. "He wouldn't have killed me."

"You're right," he snapped. "But, don't think for a moment that I did not see where his hands were." He felt anger rising up inside him. Looking at the dead body gave him a feeling of relief. His only regret was making the death so quick. He should have made it more painful and torturous.

She shook the memory from her mind. She felt gross. She looked down at the man. "What are you going to do?"

He picked up the man and put him over his shoulder, as though he was only carrying a bag of luggage. "Cemetery, behind the church."

She followed.

It was as they kept walking that she saw Klaus beginning to struggle. Before, it appeared that carrying the body was easy, now he began to slouch. Every once in a while a groan would escape him and she could tell he was getting tired. Interestingly enough, it was not a long walk from where they were. They had only been walking about five minutes.

"Do you need help?" She glanced out into the darkness ahead of them. The church was only a few minutes away. She could see it.

"It's fine." He said this with uncertainty. Something was wrong.

* * *

Caroline snapped herself back to the reality of her current situation. She looked back at Klaus, who remained emotionless as a group of people decided his fate. She was nervous and her hands were clammy. She wondered if she would ever be able to keep an emotionless face, like Klaus. Everything was written on her face, she was sure of it. She ran a hand to her cheek and rubbed below her eye, revealing to anyone who was looking at her that she was tired.

"How do you find?" The judge's voice was ice-cold and strict. There was no mercy.

"Guilty."

The word was said with certainty. Mostly, because it was true. They were guilty – both of them. Still, this was all too strange. What the hell was the point of being a vampire, when something like this could happen to you?

In seconds, her mother was at her side, mumbling some gibberish about how everything was going to be okay. She would figure it out. She had connections. Blah, Blah, Blah. Caroline looked at Klaus, knowing that he was the only one that could bring her comfort right now. Before, he looked emotionless, but now he looked worried.

With his hands behind his back, in handcuffs, he whispered, "You're going to be okay."

And she believed him.

* * *

Memories began to flash through her mind again.

_"You killed a person of magic." _The voice was calm and rich, filled with power. "This is the last straw, Niklaus."

Klaus glared back with an unafraid smirk on his face, as though no one could touch him. His eyes sparkled with a reckless fearlessness.

"You need to learn that everything has a reaction. You killed a person who's magic is pure –"

This was when Klaus snapped. "Pure magic that was used to get his hands between her legs." Caroline looked down, as though in shame and he wished he said that last sentence more delicately.

The witch continued, unaffected. "This is the last kill you will make, Niklaus. The witches have joined together to make sure of it."

The sound of the witch's voice was beginning to fade and Caroline realized there was no witch actually there – just a vision…or a ghost. No matter how many supernatural things she was faced with, this witchy thing never failed to creep her out a little bit.

It was not long before cops were in front of them. They both looked exhausted. Must be all those "animal attacks" keeping them busy. Klaus smirked at them and took a few steps. The cops stood in place. Caroline realized he was going to compel them to let them go and forget they ever saw the not yet buried body. She stood at the side, waiting, although one of the cops was behind her, ready to handcuff her.

"You're going to let us go…" Klaus' pupils dilated. The man in front of him looked unaffected and Klaus stopped for a moment, confused.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," was all the man said as he brought Klaus' hands behind his back and handcuffed him.

Vervain. It was the only explanation for why the cops didn't react to compulsion. Klaus squirmed under his grip, but failed to break away completely. Instead, the cuffs broke through his skin. He wasn't strong enough to fight them off, with his hands behind his back. He looked at Caroline, who tried to fight back as well. Just like him, she was failing. She looked at him, nervous and he wished there was something he could do to comfort her.

* * *

The cell was cold and the floors appeared to have some sort of mold growing on them. This was not happening. He did not spend a thousand years walking as a vampire, only to be thrown into a jail cell as if he was a common human. He looked around the cell. A disgusting toilet rested at the corner and he had no intention of ever using it. He was alone, in the cell. For now, he was told. He stood up and traced the ice-cold metal bars that trapped him. Putting all his strength into his hand, he attempted to break the metal. A few days ago, this would have been no problem at all. Now, was another story. The metal remained sturdy and unaffected by his strength. A guard walked by.

"Excuse me," he called. The guard had no intention of speaking to him. That was alright, all he needed was the guard to look at him. "You will let me go," he spoke clearly and firmly. His pupils dilated.

"Go to hell," he guard muttered under his breath, walking away.

He recapped the past events in his mind. He saved Caroline, twice. He happened to kill a witch (woops?). The witches finally got pissed enough at him to retaliate. They never did elaborate on what exactly it was that they did to him and Caroline. All he knew was that he was not strong enough to break out, he could not compel his way out, and he desperately needed to feed on some defenseless soul. _Shit._

* * *

Caroline sat on the very edge of the cold bench. She was "fortunate" enough to have a roommate. The woman stared at her. Caroline took it as an opportunity to try this compulsion thing one last time. She turned to her. "Tell me your name."

"Tiny," the woman answered with ease.

Caroline could tell that she was not in the least bit affected by her compulsion. Her answer was a choice, rather than a result of Caroline's compulsion. Caroline looked at the woman up and down. She was scary looking and appeared to be an estimated two hundred and fifty pounds (give or take). She looked at her with a confused expression. "Seriously?"

Tiny moved herself closer to Caroline in a successful attempt to intimidate her.

She backed away. "I mean – I – it's a very unique name."

Now what the hell was she supposed to do? Stuck in a jail cell with a huge, scary looking, woman named Tiny who she had already managed to piss off. No compulsion, no vampire strength. She as good as dead…well not really…she was still a vampire. Right? This was all too weird.

* * *

It was dark now. For dinner, she was given some gross looking food to eat. Little did they know what she really wanted to eat was her cellmate. Not really, but she was getting desperate. She was trying to think of ways that she could feed on her and get away with it, seeing as she couldn't compel her or anyone else. The gross mashed potatoes for her 'divine' dinner helped with the cravings, but barely. She was supposed to sleep now, but who the hell was she kidding? She couldn't sleep. She could barely think clearly.

"Caroline!"

A loud whisper jolted her out of her own thoughts. She glanced at Tiny, who was fast asleep, as if she had no other concern in the world. Caroline, on the other hand, could not get herself to rest her body on that cockroach infested bed. She focused on where the sound was coming from. The sound of keys was alarming and she heard the squeaking of the metal door to her cell open.

"Klaus?" She whispered back, taking a step towards the open doors. "How did you get out?" Not fair, he could still compel people and she couldn't? _Wait, he couldn't compel them before...did he get it back? What?_

He placed his index finger to his mouth, silently telling her to keep quiet. He reached out his hand to her, after opening the door. "Let's go."

"What? We can't!" He didn't even know why she was hesitating. The thought of breaking out of jail with Klaus was frightening, although she was not frightened of him at all, in this moment. The whole situation was alarming and not one she ever envisioned herself being in.

What? Did she want to spend years in here, with no strength and no compulsion powers? How long did she think she could survive without feeding, or without anyone finding out that she was a vampire? He didn't have time for this. He extended his hand out to her, one final time. It was her last chance to make a choice, or else he would make the choice for her and drag her out with him.

She looked at him, his eyes filled with a surprising urgency and worry. His hand extended towards her and this time she didn't think twice about taking it. His hand was cold, but as his fingers wrapped around hers and tugged her out of the cell, she felt warmer somehow.

…And so they ran.

* * *

**What do you guys think? Hate it? Like it? Worth posting more? Review, please!**


	2. The Road Ahead

**Thank you so much for the follows, faves, and of course the reviews! I'm glad you guys like the story enough to follow, fave, or review it. Just a small FYI (and anyone that has ever written a fic may agree with me on this) reviews = motivation! Please, please, please review and tell me what you think. Let me know if you like something, don't like something, if you feel something is OOC, etc.**

**Here is chapter two. Sorry guys, it's short. Actually, if you have a minute, let me know what you prefer: short chapters (apx 2,000 words) or longer chapters?**

**Okay, here goes!**

* * *

It was dark and the street they walked on was narrow and long. It seemed as though they had been walking for hours. Klaus assured her it had only been about forty five minutes. She had no clue how he knew that, considering he did not have a watch, or phone, on him. The air was cold, making her shiver. There was no one around them, they were alone. It was a relief...kind of. The trees swayed in the wind, giving Caroline a nervous feeling. She thought about the life she was about to leave behind. She wanted to see her mom, before they left to where ever they were leaving to. She wanted to say goodbye, not knowing the next time she would see her. She wanted to see her friends and Tyler, one last time. Klaus wouldn't allow it, arguing that she cannot trust anyone with this. She made a decision, to herself, to call her mom, once they settled on a place.

"We're here," Klaus said in a low whisper.

They were obviously still in Mystic Falls, but she had never been here before. It looked like a warehouse of some sort. The walls were metal, as were the doors. It was randomly placed, without a parking lot or any sign of civilization nearby. It was just a building in the middle of nowhere.

"Come on," he urged her. Taking a few steps away from her, he motioned for her to join him.

She followed him. "What is this place?"

He didn't answer, only walked into the area and made a few turns. He stopped in front of a unit and bent his knees, so that he was almost sitting on the ground. He ran a hand down the ugly, dirty, floors. After a long second, he pulled out a key and opened the unit. Inside, it was large and spacious. The only thing in there was a large suitcase. He left her side to go get it.

She walked towards him, as he opened it. Inside, there was an obscene amount of money. It appeared to be all in hundred dollar bills. "How much is it?" She asked.

"It's enough to last a few months. More, if we spend carefully."

_We?_ "Why do you have it? What, did you just assume something like this would happen?"

_Not exactly this._ "My father hunted me for a thousand years. I've learned how to prepare for everything," he answered calmly. Closing the case, he moved to the other side of the area. There, rested a black bag that she had not noticed before. He unzipped it. "I have a change of clothes for myself." He looked her up and down, as she stood in front of him in her prison uniform. "I never anticipated that I would have someone with me. Rebkah was resting in her box when I packed this."

"'Resting'…that's putting it mildly." She would roll her eyes at this, if he hadn't just broken her out of jail.

"I have an extra shirt." He handed it to her. "Maybe put it over the uniform, until we're able to get something else."

"Thanks." She took it from him. It was a regular, light blue, t-shirt shirt. It was a better color for her than the one she was currently wearing. The label read XL. It was big enough to cover her and act as a dress. She glanced at him. He paid no attention to her, taking off his uniform and putting on his change of clothes. "Don't look," she told him.

"Tell me when you're done." He kept his back turned to her.

_Well that was easy_, she thought to herself. No witty remark or joke.

He turned around, once he was "allowed". His mouth opened at the sight. She had managed to transform the t-shirt he gave her into a sleeveless dress. It appeared that she got her head and arms through the hole, where the head should be. She then proceeded to tie the sleeves into a bow, in front, under her bust. "That's…creative," was the first thing that came to his mind.

She smiled awkwardly, holding her hands together in front of her. "So, what's the plan?"

He snapped out of his trance. "Um, the plan? The plan is to get as far away from here as possible and become invisible, until the witches give me – us – our powers back."

They were all over the news, being described as the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, although that is far from what they were. No one knew they were vampires, but it appeared the council was well on their way to finding out (at least, that's what her mother told her). For now, they were just two humans who killed another human. Soon, once the guard Klaus knocked out woke up, they would be two humans who killed another human and were now on the run. In the last few days, their faces were on every news channel. Even if they could, it would take a miracle to compel their way out of this. They couldn't very well compel the whole population, could they? Caroline tried to erase those thoughts out of her mind and focus on the now, instead of the last few days and even the future. It made her nervous, as it seemed they couldn't quite get themselves out of this mess so easily.

"Here," he handed her a blood bag. She looked from him to the bag, and then back to him. "Unless you want me to find a human to drain."

A cocky smirk crossed his face and she grabbed the bag with a scoff. He was confusing, to say the least. Only he could do something that would make her forget why she ever hated him, and then in the same minute say something that would bring it all back in a flash. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she said under her breath, more for herself, than for him.

"Doing what, love?" He casually sipped the blood from his own bag.

"Going on the run with you. That is what we're doing, right?"

He shrugged. "Would you have preferred to rot in a jail cell?"

She said nothing. As crazy as all of this was, she was glad he broke her out and took her with him. Better this, than a jail cell. She was thankful to him, for that. The one thing that bugged her about it was why. Why would he take her with him? He didn't have to. He certainly put himself into more danger by taking the time to get to her cell and break her out. Why would he do it?

"Why did you do it? Come get me, I mean." Silently, she wondered if he would give her a truthful answer. He was the master of lies and manipulations, right? There was a catch of some sort in there, right? There had to be.

He hesitated. "I – I think he should go." He changed the subject, not wanting to reveal his reasoning. There was no time for a heart-to-heart. They had things to do. "I trust you're feeling better now that you –"

"Better," she assured him. She could practically feel color coming back to her cheeks.

"Good. Let's go." He grabbed the case of money and the black bag.

* * *

They walked for what seemed to be another hour, or so. Maybe less. She had no way to tell what time it was. All she knew was that it was still dark, meaning night. The walk was spent mainly in silence. Klaus didn't ask her any questions, and refused to answer the one she asked him. He appeared to be tired and the briefcase seemed to be heavy. He really did loose his vampire-slash-hybrid strength. He wasn't complaining and said nothing in regards to losing his powers. Caroline guessed his thoughts were consumed by this escape plan he was constructing. Maybe, once they made a clean break, he would have more of a reaction to the witch's voodoo.

Hearing a loud creaking noise, Caroline looked up. "We're at a scrap yard," she said to herself. "You're stealing a car?" He couldn't use his own car, she realized. She hadn't even thought of that.

"It's not stealing, if someone left it for trash." He allowed her to go in first. "And it's not really a scrap yard. People just kind of leave their cars here. The area's not looked after by anybody. One is free to take whatever they want."

"And you know about this place because…?"

"Because I've been around for a long time and know most things." He navigated his way through the area.

_And cue the annoying cocky smirk._ She watched him walk around, looking at the various cars. Most of them were too damaged to pass as usable. A few appeared to be okay. She walked around, too. Coming across an okay-looking car, she pointed it out to him. He came back to her and opened the car door. The car was dirty and obviously old, but it was the most functional looking one that she had come across. He motioned for her to pass him the black bag and she did, without a word. He pulled out a screwdriver.

_How the hell could he possibly know he would need a screw driver?_ She took the bag and looked through it, as he fumbled with the car. She saw a flashlight, some weird wires, rope, another screwdriver, and batteries. Klaus had the car started before she could look through the rest of the bag. She closed it, and threw it in the backseat, next to where Klaus had put the money.

"One quick stop for gas and we're off," Klaus announced, running his hands along the steering wheel.

She got into the passengers seat. "Yeah, hopefully the car won't fall apart before then."

* * *

According to the car clock, they had been driving for two hours. During this time, Caroline did most of the talking. She asked him where they were going, but he told her nothing. She asked him how long they would be gone for and he replied with 'as long as it takes.' She decided to lay off the questions for a while, not wanting to irritate him. They drove in silence, for a little while. Caroline watched the trees pass by them, as they drove. The streetlights shone beautifully against the road. It was relaxing, somehow.

"You can sleep, if you like," he told her. He kept his eyes on the road ahead of them. "I'll wake you up once we get there."

"Are you tired?" _You must be_.

He smiled at the question. If he didn't know any better, he would think she actually cared. That would be a first, wouldn't it? "I'll be okay."

"You never told me where we're going." Her eyes were closing.

"Just a place I called home for a while." He looked at her for a second, to see her reaction. She looked at him, revealing nothing.

"Why are we going there?" She pushed her hair behind her ear and made herself more comfortable on the seat. The drive was not nearly over, it seemed.

"Do you have any other places to go?" He challenged.

They stayed silent for a few more moments.

"You probably want me to stop talking…" she trailed off. Briefly, she remembered the amount of times Damon told her to shut up.

He furrowed his brows. "No." He glanced at her one more time, quickly. She appeared surprised at his answer. "Talk to me."

"Why did you take me with you?" Was he going to avoid this question a third time?

He hesitated. He took her because he didn't want to be alone anymore. "Because I like you," he replied.

She was content with this answer. She leaned back on the chair and put one foot over the other. She looked outside, again. There was no one around for miles; they were the only two people on the road. _I should get used to it_, she thought. They would be the only two people for a while. She immediately shook away thoughts of all the people she was leaving behind. She couldn't think of it without her bottom lip beginning to quiver. Would they all hate her? How long before they found out? Would they hate her for leaving with Klaus, of all people? If she thought about this for a significant amount of time, spurts of self-loathing would begin. She shouldn't be with Klaus. She didn't have a choice now, did she? It was either this or having the whole world eventually find out she was a vampire. Yes, this would work as a temporary rationalization. Secretly, she felt secure and safe being alone on the road with Klaus. Powers, or no powers, he was the most feared being on earth and it was with him that she was safest.

"I guess it's just you and me, then." She closed her eyes, ready to drift off into what she hoped would be a peaceful sleep.

The thought was oddly comforting. It was with those words that his loneliness disappeared…at least for now. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips and he ran a hand over his mouth to make it disappear. He looked at the long road ahead.

"You and me," he whispered.

* * *

**Thanks for reading :) Review, if you have a second.**

**Edit: just making a small note about the police uniforms (because it was mentioned in reviews); I think once denied bail a prisoner would be changed into police uniforms. C and K have been denied bail, so that's why they're wearing them in this chaper. I'm not too familiar with the step-by-step of how one is treated after an arrest, so if you know better, please feel free to correct me in reviews! If it is in fact a mistake on my part, please excuse it!**

**destinyignites on tumblr.**


	3. Changes

**Hi everyone! First, as always, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read the fic, fave it, and follow it. THANK YOU to anyone who left a review, because they really do help me and motivate me to write more. I read every single one and the reason I don't reply is because I don't want to annoy anyone (I'm never sure if I'm being a bother or not), but I do read them and appreciate them all!**

**I know some of you were confused on the last chapter. Two things I want to adress:**

**1) They are NOT human, nor do I plan on making them human in this fic.**

**2) Small thing that was mentioned in the reviews - the prison uniform. I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure when they have to be put on. I made the assumption that after bail is denied, one would have to change into a uniform. If it was a mistake, please excuse it!**

**Okay, moving on to chapter three...**

* * *

Bright.

Caroline woke up to the brightness of the sun shining through the car window. She instinctively turned to the other side, in a failed attempt to shield herself and get a few more minutes of sleep. Wait…she was still in the car. She opened her eyes. The blurriness of her black dreams left her and she saw Klaus stretched out in the driver's seat. He was sleeping, too. She sat up and looked around. Nothing. There was nothing, except an old broken-down house.

"Klaus," she whispered his name loudly.

No response.

She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly.

He opened his eyes, looking right at her.

She stayed silent for a long second, caught off guard by how green his eyes looked against the light. His lips were red and his curls were lighter against the sunlight. He may be a monster, but he sure could look like an angel. She cleared her throat, snapping herself out of her admiration. "Is this it? Are we here?"

He stretched his arms out in front of him and sat up on the seat. "Yes," he said calmly.

She ran her hands across the window to her side and then to the lock on the door. She got out of the car, slowly navigating her way to the old house. It was made of brick and it appeared to be only one room. It was not a house in the way that one would imagine a house: bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and so forth. Rather, it was just one room. Stepping on a rock, she looked down at her feet. The ground was dirt, not pavement. There were cracks and rocks that got in her way as she walked towards the house. "It's old," she observed.

"It is," Klaus agreed. He opened the door, allowing her through. "It is not a house, as you can see," he said.

_It's not? Well, yeah, not really._

"It was once a church, many years ago." He watched her walk around, observing the area. "Eventually, it was deemed useless and it was abandoned." He walked over to the side of the room. "There were once sitting benches here," he remembered. He could almost see faint lines of where they were. Perhaps, was only imagining things.

"There is only one room," she said in wonder.

"There is a closet in the back," he pointed to a door at the other end of the room. Before he could say more, she made her way there and opened the door.

"This is not a closet," she said in disbelief.

"By your standards, I suppose it is not." He smiled at her reaction. "But it is, I assure you, a closet."

She opened another door, next to the 'closet'. There was a gross looking bathroom that she assumed was not used in years. "Bathroom," she whispered to herself. "No shower?" She asked.

He cleared his throat. "There is a lake a few steps away from this…err…I suppose we refer to it as a house." She looked repulsed and he felt guilty for not being able to take her elsewhere, yet. Soon, he assured himself. Soon, he would take her somewhere better. Just as soon as they got some details out of the way. "This is temporary," he tried to calm her expression.

She nodded, her expression going from repulsed to plain and blank. "You told me you were taking me to a place you called home. You lied?"

"I did no such thing," he grew nervous at the question. "I did call this home, once. Temporarily, I used this as a hiding spot. It is one of the few places no one would ever think to look. No one, including my father," he explained.

"There is a difference between a house and a home." She gave the ugly bathroom one last look and closed the door. She ran a hand against the brick walls. For a second, she imagined Klaus here all alone, without a soul in the world. The image made her sad, despite her desire to feel nothing for him.

"Yes," he agreed.

"How long are we going to be here? You said its temporary?"

"Everything is temporary," he said with an accidental bitterness in his tone. "Eventually we will have to leave, to avoid being found."

"Yeah, about that…" she tore herself away from the chipped, cracked walls. "Do you know what this whole voodoo-witch thing is? I mean, what the hell did they do, exactly?"

"You were there with me, Caroline." He went back to the car. "You know everything that I know."

"So, we're stuck here and we have no strength and no way to compel anyone." She opened the car door and grabbed the black bag as Klaus grabbed the briefcase with money. "We're basically, like, human."

"We are not human," he snapped at her. She took a step back at the outburst and he recoiled. He made sure to speak more calmly. "I will get everything back. There is a lot of magic required in maintaining these shenanigans, I'm sure. They _cannot_ hold me powerless forever."

"You're just going to wait it out?" He motioned for the black bag and she passed it to him in response.

"What would you suggest I do?" He fumbled through the black bag, digging all the way down to the bottom. "If the witches want to conspire against me, so be it, but they will not be able to do this forever."

"Maybe there is a spell to undo it."

"Maybe," he agreed. "If I were to get a witch to agree to help me, do you really believe she would go against her kind for the likes of me? One witch against _all_ the witches currently retaliating against me? It doesn't seem likely, love."

"And without compulsion or the strength to deliver on a threat, she won't bother helping you," she voiced her thoughts out loud. "You seem to be reacting well to it."

"I'm optimistic that this will not last long," he explained.

She watched him as he finally pulled his hand out of the black bag. Something was in his hand, but he kept it to himself.

"In the mean time," he told her, "you need a new name. In case anyone ever asks."

"Elizabeth?" She remembered her mother.

"Very well." He struggled, a little, with this next part. "Your last name will be Williamson."

She nodded at him, accepting this.

That wasn't the part that caused his emotions to rise. "As will mine," he said.

They were going to be brother and sister, she realized. Maybe he believed it would make them less suspicious, if anyone ever questions them. She watched his worried expression for a second, as he uncurled his right hand. Inside were two gold rings. Wedding bands. She was wrong. He did not want to pretend to be siblings. He wanted to pretend to be married. She tried to push back her anxiety.

"It's only a story," he tried to calm her expression. "It's not real. It will make us less suspicious, if people see the rings and assume we are married." He handed the smaller ring to her.

She could think of a million reasons to protest. A million reasons to just turn around and go back to Mystic Falls. She pushed the reasons back, so the need to voice them was no longer on the tip of her tongue. Raising her hand, she calmly took the ring from him. It fit perfectly on her finger. "Only a story," she said to herself. "'Till death do us part," she sighed.

Those words gave him an unexpected feeling of joy. Even if it was for show, she was by his side. She wore his ring, telling the world she was his. _Till death do us part_. He placed his ring on his finger and looked at her. Her long hair fell to her face, as a result of the passing wind. She brushed it away, effortlessly. "We need to change your appearance," he said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"You cannot fit the description the people have of you. When the police ask if anyone has seen a beautiful, blonde, female, you should not be the face that comes to their mind."

"So…I need to be an ugly, brunette, man?" She asked, lightheartedly.

He laughed. "I wouldn't go that far, love." He watched her put a strand of hair behind her ear. "We will stop by the store and get you some hair dye and scissors."

Her mouth flew open. "You are not cutting my hair!" She walked back inside the house and slammed the door behind her. He followed her in and she attempted to close it shut, to push him back out. "No," she said strongly. He pushed the door open and she lost her balance, taking two or three steps back. "No," she said again.

He bit his lower lip, stopping himself from making this an argument. "We need to go to the store anyway. You need clothes."

She looked down at herself, remembering that she was in only his t-shirt. "Okay."

Okay to what, he wondered to himself. The clothes or the hair cut? He did not ask. He walked out of the house, back outside. Walking, he saw a young girl, maybe about fifteen, at a distance. She was walking along the dirt road. He made his way to her, with the intention to drain her. It really was his only option, since compelling her to forget was not in his abilities, at the moment.

"Klaus, what are you doing?" It was only as she said his name that she realized she never asked him what his fake one was. He wasn't paying attention to her. Sadly, she knew he was going to kill the girl he was after now. There was nothing she could do to stop him. Even without his vampire strength, he was stronger than her and the girl combined. She silently hated him for what he was about to do. Unable to look, as he grabbed a hold of the girl, she went back inside the house.

Klaus tugged the girl's hair down, so that her head flew back and the main vain running through her neck was easily accessible to him. He silenced her screams with one hand and kept her in place with another. He prepared to let his fangs out and sink them into her delicious flesh. They didn't. He closed his mouth and the veins under his eyes disappeared. The girl squirmed under his hold and he held her tighter, not knowing what to do now. He tried again. It didn't work. He turned the young girl to face him. She looked terrified. He couldn't compel her and couldn't drain her. He wasn't going to strangle her, like a human would. A million thoughts ran through his head all at once.

"Happy April fools," he stumbled. _Is that the best thing you could come up with, you moron?_ He mentally scolded himself for such a cover and watched the girl for a response, carefully.

"It's October," she breathed, terrified. She backed away from him. Soon, her walk turned into a run.

Klaus silently hoped that she assumed he was crazy. He thought back on what happened with great confusion, running his tongue over his top teeth. The girl was out of sight now, and he found himself practically running into the house.

Caroline turned to the loud banging of the front door. For a second, she thought the cops had found them. She backed up against the wall behind her, in fear. Looking up, she saw Klaus standing in front of her. "Are you crazy?" She screeched at him. "You scared the hell out of me!"

"Bite," he commanded, walking towards her with his wrist extended.

She looked at him, confused and still nervous from the earlier scare. "You really are off your rocker, aren't you?"

"Do it!" He yelled, moving his wrist closer to her.

She hesitated. Taking his wrist with one hand, she carefully brought it to her mouth. Her lips lingered on his skin for a long few seconds and her eyes stayed with his. She waited for him to pull his wrist back, but he didn't. She bit down, softly, using only her human teeth. She released his skin, under her teeth, as softly as she had captured it.

He prepared for a pinch of pain from her bite, but he felt nothing. It was soft, barely a bite. It was more like a touch. She raised her head back up, not letting go of his wrist. "Not like that," he said. "Do it as though you're feeding."

"Is this some weird, kinky, thing you're trying to pull?"

"No," he said firmly.

His tone left no room for hesitation or more questions. She brought his wrist back up to her mouth and opened it, ready to bite into him. Her fangs wouldn't extend. She dropped his wrist. "I can't," she told him. She tried again. Nothing. And again. Nothing.

"Great," he mumbled under his breath. "That's just fantastic."

"What did you do with the girl?" She realized his panic was because he couldn't feed on the girl he was hunting.

"There is nothing I could do with her!" He snapped at her. "She left." Perhaps, it was not the best choice, to let the girl go. What the hell was he supposed to do with her, though?

"Are you sure we're still…you know…"

"You can say it. It's not a dirty word." His temper was growing worse. "Yes, we're still vampires. Would you like to know how I know that? Because _I need_ to feed. _Now_."

The way he was talking to her, she began feeling like a child. She felt torn between getting upset and getting angry. Neither of which would do any good, right now. She stayed silent, wondering how he (and she, for that matter) would tame the bloodlust. She remembered what the ghost-y witch said to him, before taking the powers away. They told him the last kill he made would be his last kill. They took away their powers to stop them from making yet another kill.

"I did a good thing," he said in a surprisingly small voice. "I _helped_ you," he told her. "Of all the things I've done, they're punishing me for _helping_ you." He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.

That wasn't exactly why he was being punished, but Caroline felt bad for him. He truly believed that kill to be selfless and he believed he was being punished for doing something selfless. And he was right, he helped her. He was being punished – they were being punished – because he helped her.

They kept silent for a long few minutes before Klaus finally spoke again. "We need to break into the hospital." He saw one not too far away, on their drive here. They were on the country side now – practically in the middle of nowhere – and the people were more trusting. He hoped breaking in to get the hospital's blood stash would be easier than he anticipated. The one downfall of being in the middle of nowhere was that everyone who was also here knew each other. Fresh faces stood out. They needed to look different, so that they would no longer match their descriptions on the news.

Her eyes widened at his conclusion. "To get blood," she understood.

"We need to go to the store first," he said.

* * *

Klaus walked behind Caroline, as she roamed the isles of Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart was the closest store to where their house was and they had to drive for an hour to get there. Caroline pushed the cart in front of her and he walked to her side. From a distance, they probably appeared to be a regular everyday couple. They were none of those things. Klaus peeked into the cart, trying to see what Caroline had put in there. He saw a few different types of makeup – he wasn't sure what they were exactly. One of the bottles said "foundation" and the other "primer". This was not his area of expertise and so he was lost. He moved his eyes to a different part of the cart, seeing a few t-shirts, a dress, another dress (a nicer looking one, he thought), jeans, socks, hair comb, towels, shampoo, and she just threw in a box of hair color. Dark brown, it appeared. Next, followed a curling iron.

"We will be packing up again soon," he informed her. "You need to travel light."

With a sideways glance, she put the curling iron back.

"We need food," he told her. "Real food, to help with cravings." Yes, they would break into the hospital, but they needed to make the supply they stole last for as long as possible. To do that, they needed to be careful with how much they drank. He bitterly thought back on his inability to drain the girl. He ran his tongue across his teeth, again.

"I don't know what you like." She went to the food part of the store. He went ahead of her and she watched him. He put into the cart a few bananas, grapefruit, grapes, bread, and cookies. She smirked in amusement to herself, realizing that the big bad wolf liked cookies. She looked into the cart, counting three different boxes of cookies. He proceeded to put in some vegetables. The contrast between the two choices was amusing to Caroline.

After paying, they made their way through the parking lot and to their run-down car. It was the worst one at the lot, looking as though it may fall apart at any given second. Putting the last of the purchases in the back of the car, Klaus sat down in the driver's seat.

She watched him fiddle with the screwdriver again. After a long few moments, the car finally started. By the time her eyes found his face, he looked to be frozen. He was looking straight ahead, and although Caroline knew this was not possible for a vampire, he appeared to have lost all the color in his face. She tried to find what he was looking at. She found it.

A small boy. He looked to be around eight, or nine, not more. He was with another man. His dad, Caroline guessed. He was an attractive man, wearing an expensive looking leather jacket. The boy had his father's dark brown shaggy hair. He was cute. Why was Klaus so shaken up by the image, she wondered. In a second, she understood. The older man hit the boy upside the head. The boy didn't make a sound. He did not flinch. He accepted the hit.

Klaus gripped at the steering wheel, looking as though he might snap it into two pieces.

Caroline would guess that maybe the father was only disciplining his son, but she knew better. The hit carried too much anger and too much strength. For the boy's sake, Caroline hoped it would not get worse. It did. On a public parking lot, the father grabbed the boy by his hood and practically kicked him into the car.

Klaus stayed still, his eyes filled with a vulnerability she never expected to see. There was no anger, only sadness.

"That's sad," she whispered.

He said nothing. He watched the car start and make its way out of the lot. Klaus followed.

"You're following him?" She asked, knowing that he was. When the car switched lanes, so did they. The car sped up, so did they. He was very careful not to lose track of the car.

He said nothing in reply, only tapped on the steering wheel, angrily.

She was growing nervous with each passing second in the car. Klaus seemed to be getting angrier and angrier. She silently wondered how long until he stopped following them. Or, what if he wouldn't stop following them? What if he would come to a stop when the other car did, get out of the car and beat the older man senseless? Worse, what if he just kills him with his bare hands?

"Klaus," she whispered his name cautiously.

He did not reply. His expression was now free of any emotion, as though he managed to somehow go completely and utterly numb.

_He's going to kill the man_, she said the realization to herself. No amount of witch magic would stop him, she understood. Silently, she hoped to anyone above her that would listen – God, the witches, ghosts, it didn't matter – that she was wrong. Still, she knew…

_The man will die. _

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Reviews are always encouraged :)**


	4. Goodbye

**Thank you all so much for the reviews and taking the time to read/fave/follow the fic! It really means a lot to me that people are interested in some crazy idea that I have bouncing around in my head. Hopefully, I do it justice and write it out in a way that you guys enjoy it. There are three things I want to adress: **

**1) In the last chapter, Caroline chose the name Elizabeth as her cover name. I wrote saying that "she remembered her mother". I did not mean to imply that her mother died. I just meant that she remembered her in the moment that she picked that name. Liz is very much alive.**

**2) I stopped shipping Tyler/Caroline a few episodes after 3x01. I won't get into reason's why, in case anyone reading this fic is a fan of both. With that said, I want to let you all know that I won't be writing paragraphs on how much Caroline loves Tyler and how he is "the love of her life" (as Candice says). Yes, in the fic, Tyler is/was her boyfriend but I will not be writing it as an epic love story that Klaus destroyed. In this fic, they only dated for a bit and are not two halves of some epic romance. Not only will I hurl my cookies having to write that, but I don't want to put you all through that (lol). **

**3) Caroline has not been outed to the council, like she was on TVD. In this fic, they are possibly close to finding out that she is a vampire, but they do not know for sure. Just want to mention that as well, given that it is yet another difference between the fic and the show. **

**Just in general tho, remember that this is a fic and will not always line up with everything that happened on the show!**

**Okay, moving on...**

* * *

He didn't move.

Caroline looked at the car clock. It was telling the wrong time, she was sure of it. When they stopped it read 10:37 PM and now it read 11:39 PM, meaning they had been standing in one spot for a little over an hour. Klaus parked across the street from the house where the boy and his father lived, in an attempt to not draw attention to him. He hadn't said a word in all this time. He just sat there, staring at the house. It was a nice looking house. Nothing fancy, nothing too expensive, but really nice looking. Cozy. Deceiving.

"You're basically stalking, you know that?" She said, breaking their silence.

He said nothing. There was a half empty bottle of water resting in the car's cup holder. He took a sip and put it back. His eyes never left the house.

"Don't we have a hospital to break into?"

"Soon," he said dryly.

"Wow, so you can speak!" This would be his first word since they stopped.

He said nothing. He tapped his left knee with his hand, softly.

She softened her tone, realizing that her sarcastic tone would not get her far with him in this particular situation. Truthfully, for whatever reason, he seemed shaken up because of all of this. "Look, I know you're upset over the boy." He gave her a quick look, one that told her he was listening, and then looked back at the house. "But there's really not much that you can do. We're supposed to be hiding…you can't let too many people see you. You can't kill him – the father, I mean – because then you'll never get your powers back. There's nothing you can do."

He sat for a moment, thinking over Caroline's words. She was right about everything. Everything except the belief that there was nothing he could do. "There is something." He got out of the car, seeing the boy finally make an appearance.

"What are you doing?" She hissed at him and grabbed on to his sleeve. _Please don't kill anyone._

He softly shook his hand, forcing Caroline to let go, and made his way to the house. He wasn't stupid; he knew the risk of doing this. He knew the father could be witnessing this and he knew that the kid could get frightened and tell someone about their little encounter. Still, he had to try. "Hey, Kid," Klaus whispered. It had been quite some time since the last time he spoke to a child. He wasn't quite sure how to approach him. Was this right? Was there a right or wrong for this?

The boy turned around to the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Looking the man in front of him up and down, he took a few steps back. His hands were at his sides and he nervously fidgeted with his fingers.

Klaus stumbled, not sure exactly what he wanted to say. "You're safe." He said the first thing he could think of. Truthfully, he didn't know if this was a good way to start. He shouldn't be giving the boy false hope, he realized. He didn't know if that boy was safe and as of right now, there was little he could do to ensure the boy's safety. He could barely ensure his own. He decided to correct his earlier promise with a more honest one. "I won't hurt you," he promised and hoped the boy believed him.

He took a quick second to look at the boy's face. His eyes were bright blue, similar to Caroline's. They were outlined with a darker blue. His lips were dry and chapped, and possibly scarred from past hits. His hair was shaggy and brown. He needed a haircut. He had a bruise under his right eye. They boy looked nothing like Klaus, yet he reminded him a lot of his human self – the human child that used to run to escape Mikael's brutal punishments.

The boy did not say anything and he did not move, so Klaus asked him his name. The boy said nothing, again. He fidgeted with his hands, nervously, and looked down at his feet.

Klaus wasn't good at this. He had no idea what to say to him, or how to help him. His only solution was to murder the boy's father, but this was not in his abilities at this time. He needed to say something. "I can tell you mine, if you like," he suggested. _There, is that good? _

The boy nodded, still not saying anything.

For a second, Klaus wondered if he should give the boy his fake name. After all, the boy could go and tell someone of this little visit. Surely, this would put the cops on his tail, if they were notified of a suspicious man, named Klaus, walking around. Still, for a reason even he did not know, he decided to give the boy his real name. "My name is Nik." He said his preferred name without thinking. Hearing it, as he said it, he wondered why he didn't introduce himself as Klaus.

The boy looked up at him, giving Klaus a lingering look, as though he was analyzing him, too. "Ethan," the boy finally introduced himself. His voice was shaky and soft.

"It's very nice to meet you, Ethan." Klaus smiled a genuine smile. "Look, I know we just met and you don't really know me, but I want to help you." Ethan didn't say anything, making Klaus nervous. "Can you tell me where you got that black eye?"

Ethan did not answer, only backed away a step or two.

Klaus understood the boy had no intention of answering his question. Would he answer any question? "Is your father inside?"

Ethan nodded.

"Okay, listen, if he hurts you…you need to find a way to get help, okay? Do you have family – someone besides your father?"

He shook his head no.

Not knowing what else to say, Klaus said the first honest thing that came to his mind. "You have me." He could hear the faint sound of a loud sports game playing on TV, inside the house. Fearing his father may be out to look for him, Klaus explained, "I need to leave. Do me a flavor, please. Keep this little chat between us, men?" The boy nodded at him, allowing Klaus to continue. "I can come back tomorrow, if you'd like?"

He nodded.

This nod surprised Klaus. They boy had only spoken to say his name, yet he wanted Klaus to return? "I'll see you tomorrow, kid. See that car, over there?" He pointed to his run-down- crappy-sort-of-stolen car. The boy looked. "That's my car. If you see it, that means I'm here." He paused for a moment, before assuring the boy, again. "I will be here." And with that, he walked away.

Caroline watched Klaus get back in the car. She looked back at the boy, who had yet to go inside. She smiled at him, but he had no reaction. He looked sad. She felt sad for him.

Klaus started the car and began to drive.

Next came something Caroline never would have expected. The boy was walking after the car. His father must have called him, because he turned around, sharply, gave the car one last glance and turned to walk back to the house. Klaus kept driving, until the boy was out of sight. It was heartbreaking. She looked at Klaus, who had yet to speak.

"What happened?" She asked, softly, hoping she wasn't overstepping some sort of boundary. He did not reply and so she kept quiet, not wanting to irritate him with her prying ways. They drove in silence for maybe ten minutes, before they finally got back to their old church-slash-house.

He stopped the car, but did not get out. He stayed in his seat for a moment and rested his right hand on the steering wheal and the left on his leg. "People like that," he finally said, "They shouldn't have kids." His voice was quiet and upset.

This was never something she expected from him. Sitting next to her was not the self-serving, selfish, manipulative man she hated. Sitting with her now was a man who did, in fact, have a heart. "What did you say to him?"

Without thinking, he replied with a little too much honesty. "Something I wish someone told me." Not wanting to elaborate, he popped the trunk of the car and got out.

They were quiet, as they unloaded everything from the trunk of the car and brought it into the house. Caroline wondered what he meant by the last words he said to her. What is it that he wished someone would tell him? When? She did not ask, not wanting to pry into something he seemed so reluctant to tell her. Walking into the house, she looked at the ugly walls again. She tried not to be too upset over having this as her place of residence for the time being. On a more positive note, she had gotten a few things to brighten the place up a bit and give it more of a home-y feel. Staying here would be more bearable, once she was done with it.

"You got scissors," Klaus said quietly, a few steps away from her. He wasn't sure how, but he missed them at the checkout. He took them out of the bag.

Her face drained of any positivity, she nodded.

* * *

Klaus laid out a large garbage bag behind her chair, to collect the falling hair. He ran a cloth across the scissors, as though he was preparing to do some wonderful piece of art and the scissors were the paintbrush for his canvas. He gripped them tightly and took hold of her, now brunette, hair.

She jerked her head forward, so her hair fell from his grip. She turned to him. "Not too short," she begged.

He only nodded, lightly. He took her hair back in his hands. He combed it with his fingers, from her scalp all the way to the bottom. It was a few inches more than shoulder length. Scooping up all the hair in his left hand, he brought the scissors closer.

She jerked her head forward, sharply, again.

"Caroline!" He took her by the shoulders and leaned her back, so that she was against the back of the chair.

"Have you ever even done this before?" She asked in a bitchy tone.

"Once, in the tenth century," he quipped. A smile left his lips, knowing this in no way enforced her confidence in him. _It's just hair – such a silly thing to be worried about. Women, today…_

"You're not funny." She pouted.

"Who said I was joking?" He took her hair back and straightened it out with a pull. Her head went back with the pull and he tilted her head forward, away from him.

Caroline closed her eyes, as he made one swift cut across. Then, another. And another. One more. Then, it got worse. She felt him come around and take some hair from the front. Her eyes were still closed. As he made another sharp cut and hair flew over her forehead, she realized he just gave her bangs. "Oh, God…please no." She whispered through her teeth.

"You can open your eyes now," he announced as if this was some grand surprise.

When she opened her eyes, he held a small mirror out to her. _Oh, no._ She looked, seeing someone she barely recognized. This was not her. This was not the girl she was a few hours ago. Her hair was brown and about a centimeter above her shoulders. "I told you not to cut too much," she hissed at him.

"I could have done worse," he defended.

She brushed her side bangs to the right side of her face. Her reflection began to blur as tears invaded her eyes. She closed them, tightly, giving herself a second to compose herself and send the tears away. She took a long breath.

"You still look beautiful," he assured her. It was true, she was still beautiful. The hair didn't look bad either, although he knew better than to praise himself now. He felt guilty for being responsible for that sad expression. She said nothing in response, so he grabbed the bag below her and left.

When he returned, she was no longer in the chair. She was gone, leaving only the mirror behind her. He looked around the area, for a moment, fearing she had left for good. She hadn't. He saw her sitting alone, overlooking the lake. He moved towards her. She was sitting on the ground, her knees at her chest and her face buried in her inner elbow. She wasn't crying, but she looked as though she was about to. "It's only hair, Caroline. It will grow back."

She lifted her head, so that her face was no longer buried in her elbow. "I know," she replied simply. She lowered her head back and looked at her reflection in the water.

He was wrong. It was not 'just hair'. Well, it was, but it represented her. Her blonde, long, locks screamed girly Caroline Forbes. The short haired brunette that she saw in her reflection screamed Elizabeth Williamson. Cutting her hair did not only force her to accept her new name, it forced her to say goodbye to her old life. Her friends, her boyfriend, her family. Everything was behind her now and the only thing in her future was Klaus. She smiled, although she felt like breaking down and crying.

"Goodbye, Caroline Forbes," she said softly.

_Goodbye._

* * *

**I don't know how many of you that read Only in a Dream are reading this fic, but in case you haven't noticed, Caroline is a little less "bitchy" towards Klaus. Not as conflicted as the Caroline in Only in a Dream. I hope you guys don't mind. It doesn't mean that this will be a fluffy fic, but only that there won't be as much push/pull. part of the reason is because they only have each other in this fic, so that leaves little room for pushing each other away. You will see some moments with Caroline being conflicted, as Klaus shows more of his good qualities, but it won't be as intense as in my other fic. **

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Please, please, please with a Klaus on top, leave reviews :) **

**destinyignites on tumblr.**


	5. A Pure Second

**Thank you so much for the reviews! They really do mean a lot and I am so glad you guys are enjoying the fic!**

**Chapter 5...**

* * *

Caroline was nervous. He left her alone. He told her that he would break into the hospital on his own and he didn't need to worry about her while he was there. She would hinder his focus, he told her. She didn't know how long he was gone for, but it seemed to be forever. What if he got caught? How would she know? What would she do? Would she just turn around and go back home? Would she look for him? Was he okay? Was she allowed to worry about him being okay? She guess that it was okay for her to be worried about him, considering she didn't know what she would do without him, in this particular situation.

In the mean time, she used the opportunity to start cleaning. Yes, she was cleaning. And not the I'm-going-to-lightly-dust-my-windows-and-put-away-my-clothes type of cleaning, but the scrubbing floors kind of cleaning. She cleaned out the main room, while Klaus was away. The walls were spotless and the spider-webs were gone. The once dirty floors were now practically shining, thanks to her.

Now, she was in the washroom, staring blankly at the dirty toilet. This was the part she was avoiding. It was a weird looking toilet. Not modern at all. It didn't even flush. She could just throw up where she stood, at the thought of using it. She quietly compared it to the one in her prison cell, wondering which one was the better option. Perhaps peeing behind a bush would be better than either of them. She put down a bucket of water and a cleaner, next to the toilet. Sitting down on her knees, she began cleaning. If someone told her two days ago that this would be her life, she would laugh in disbelief. Now, she just wanted to cry.

She quietly thought of herself as Cinderella, for a moment. "Bippidy-boppedy-boo…" she said under her breath. "Where is my prince?" Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared on the floor. She looked up to see Klaus standing there. _Prince? What a sick joke,_ she though to herself. "You're back." She said with relief. For a second, she wondered if he heard her talking to herself. Could he blame her for going insane under these circumstances?

"Yeah," he said. "It's all in the cooler. It should last for a while." She was on her knees, in front of him, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her up and have her stand in front of him instead. He didn't move. "Would you like some?"

"No," she said quietly. She kept cleaning, no longer looking at him. She was cleaning a washroom and her 'prince' was a blood-thirsty monster. Her eyes reddened with tears. She had no optimism left.

He stood in the doorway, for a second, waiting for her to look up. She didn't. "Are you okay?" He asked, softly. She was cleaning the tiles surrounding the toilet.

"Sure," she replied. Her bottom lip shook, as she tried to hold back tears. "Why wouldn't I be?" She looked up at him, her eyes red from the tears that were fighting to come out. She smiled, trying to stop her quivering lip. She successfully suppressed her tears for the time being. Her bangs were in her eyes and she brushed them to the side, with the back of her hand.

He sat down on the floor with her. Closing the bathroom door, to make more space, he leaned against the wall behind him. Keeping one leg stretched out, he kept one bent and used it to rest his elbow on his knee. "It's temporary, Caroline." He felt a mixture of anger and guilt. Guilt for not taking her somewhere better and anger at her for making him feel guilty. Was she intentionally trying to make him feel horrible? "I just need everything to die down first, before I can show my face and -"

"You don't need to explain." She stopped him, mid sentence. "I get it. It's not about you – I mean, I don't need you to explain or be sorry. It's just a lot, right now. I don't know how I'm supposed to react to this. I left _everything_," she explained. "I can only imagine what everyone thinks. I left with _you_."

He tried not to be too offended by her tone. Although he didn't like that she focused so much on other people's opinions, he attempted to try and understand her. After all, she did tell him once that he doesn't bother trying to understand people, and as a result fails to connect with them. He was going to try and change that, he decided. He said nothing.

She kept cleaning for a minute, before the floors around the toilet were spotless. "I don't do dishes," she said bluntly.

"Sorry?" His eyes widened at the some-what random outburst.

She sighed, heavily. "That's what I used to say. My mom would ask me to wash the dishes, after dinner, and I would tell her that I don't do dishes. I've never done dishes." Her tears were back and she closed her eyes, willing them away. She would not cry over this. "And now I'm cleaning the toilet." For a second she regretted telling him that, thinking that he would see her as a spoiled brat. He seemed to not be making any judgments, only listening. It was surprising, that he didn't have some sort of response. Grabbing a cloth, she lifted herself to get a better angle.

With a sigh, Klaus reached over to her and grabbed the cloth from her hands.

"What are you doing?" She asked. She watched him. He moved in her way, softly pushing her away from her spot. Without a word, he was doing the cleaning for her. She pursed her lips and swallowed her tears. "You don't have to do that."

"No, _you_ don't have to." He kept cleaning.

She got up and left the bathroom, leaving the door open behind her. He closed it, forcing her to open it again, once she came back. He looked up at her, clearly seeing her return as unexpected. With a long exhale, she came to the other side, opposite him, and began to clean as well.

It was an interesting twist of fate. Here they were, with wedding bands on their fingers, literally together through better or worse. This was 'worse', Caroline assumed. A quick, optimistic, thought came through her. If this was 'worse', there would soon be 'better'. Silently, she wondered if Klaus would be there next to her for 'better' as well.

* * *

They forgot to buy a clock. Caroline didn't know what time it was, but it was dark. She tried desperately to make herself comfortable on her air-mattress, but it in no way compared to the comforts of the queen sized bed she had waiting for her at home. She liked sleeping on two pillows, but she only had one. She silently scolded herself for being upset at something like that. She reminded herself that some people didn't have a mattress or a pillow at all. Then again, some people were also at home and not on the run with a murderous sociopath. Speaking of which…

"Klaus?" She called him. He was resting on his own mattress, just a few centimeters away from her.

"Yeah?" He opened his eyes, facing the darkness that surrounded them.

"Are you scared?" Her voice was small and almost shaky. She didn't like it and promised herself to sound stronger, from now on. Being a weak damsel in distress wouldn't help her.

"No," he said without hesitation. It was a lie. Yes, he was scared – well, 'worried' would be a more precise term. He was worried that the witches wouldn't give him his powers back as quickly as he had anticipated. He was worried that they would get tracked down by the cops and placed back into that mold-infested place, as though they were rats in some lab experiment. He was worried that Caroline would leave and he would be forced to run all on his own. He was worried about what the road had in store for them. He found his mind occasionally drifting to Ethan. He was worried about him, too.

She smiled softly into her pillow, hoping he was lying. Was it just her that was scared? "Would you tell me, if you were?" She asked.

He smiled. "No."

"I'm scared," she told him, honestly.

How would he react if she were to tell him that one of the main things that scared her was that she was alone with him? Looking at him now, he looked so far from the monster she was trained to hate. She could see him, a little bit, despite the darkness around them. He rested on his back and the blanket he had over him only covered him slightly below his stomach. Caroline guessed that he assumed she would not see him, but she did. Would everyone hate her, if she allowed herself to admit how beautiful he looked, just laying there? His shoulders were so broad and he looked so strong. She would feel safe, curled up by his side, she guessed. She wanted to touch him, because despite being a monster during the day, he looked so human right now. Looking away, she forced those thoughts out of her head.

"You're going to be okay," he told her. This was also a lie. A white lie, only because he did not actually know that she was going to be okay. He hoped that he would have the strength and intelligence to keep the both of them safe, but he had no way of actually knowing that he could manage to do that.

"Right, 'cause you're going to protect me…" she said, sarcastically. She turned and twisted under her blanket, still uncomfortable. She closed her eyes and sighed, hoping that if she relaxed, she would be more comfortable.

"Is that so hard to believe?" He took offence to the tone in her response. Did she really think that he would take her with him, if he had no intention of trying to keep her safe?

She stayed silent for a second or two, taken aback by the hurt in his reply. She opened her eyes and looked at him, again. This time, he was looking back at her. She believed that when you look at someone, there is a second of pureness. There is a second where the person you are looking at hasn't had enough time to put a guard up and hide their emotions. That second is pure; because, before they look away or mask themselves, you can see the person's true emotions flash through their eyes and reveal themselves to you. She silently wondered if he paid attention to that one pure second, before she was able to recover and put up her defenses. What did she tell him? She looked away, suddenly growing nervous at the thought of revealing more to him than she was willing to admit to herself.

She could feel herself falling asleep. Her eyes were starting to close on her, despite how much she fought to keep them open. She was scared that he might not be here when she woke up. What if he left her? What would she do? Where would she go? He was all she had, and that scared her more than anything else, at the moment. If someone told her a month (or even a week) ago that she would be so scared of losing him, she would never believe them.

"Don't leave me alone, okay?" She asked him. She sounded more vulnerable than she ever wanted to sound. She didn't dare look at him, scared that he would be able to see every emotion she was experiencing in that one pure second.

"Okay," he agreed in a whisper. He feared that she might leave him. Hearing her request put his fear to rest, for the time being.

She closed her eyes, ready to try and get some rest. Despite her best efforts to keep herself together, her closed eyelids managed to squeeze out the tears from her eyes. They rolled down her cheeks and she brushed them away with the back of her hand. She didn't dare sniff, or make a sound, knowing that Klaus would hear her. She would not allow herself to cry over this. It was all temporary, she assured herself. She would be back with her friends and family soon.

* * *

She woke up from the cold breeze that hit her body. Instinctively, she covered herself with her thin blanket, so the only part of her that was exposed to the cold breeze was her mouth. She relaxed, secluded from the world, under her covers. For a brief second, it was as if she was safe and the last few days had not happened. And in one second, everything came rushing back to her. She ripped the covers off herself and looked around the room. Her eyes searched for Klaus, but he wasn't there. Her heart sunk to her feet. She knew it. She knew he would leave. She swallowed her fear, harshly. Without thinking, she got out of her bed and ran outside.

Klaus looked up at the sudden movement. His lips parted and a small groan of desire escaped him, looking at Caroline. She stood in front of him, barefoot, her legs lean and long. It appeared that she decided to use the shirt he gave her as a nightgown and was wearing nothing underneath. Her hair was messy and her cheeks were rosy, from her sleep. All-in-all, it looked as though she just had sex. If this is what Caroline Forbes looked like first thing in the morning, every morning, his future on the run with her just got a little brighter. "Good morning," he breathed, trying desperately to keep his arousal from his voice.

She put her hands in front of her and intertwined her fingers, uncomfortably. It was only now, at his expression, that she realized she just ran out of bed and didn't even stop to put her shoes on. She looked horrible, she guessed. "Sorry…I didn't mean to just…" She paused to collect her thoughts. "I woke up and you weren't there. I thought you left."

He looked away from her, knowing that if he kept looking he might just act on his desire. "I told you I would stay," he said simply. He cleared his throat and shook out any thoughts, bouncing around his head, of her naked body pressed against his.

"I thought maybe you lied," she said quietly, under her breath.

"Of course you did." He was unable to hide his anger at her conclusion. He looked back at her, careful not to have his eyes stray from her face. "Do you ever think that, maybe, it's a self-fulfilling prophesy? Your thoughts of me, I mean." She said nothing, so he continued. "You often make the assumption that I'm horrible, awful, and such and such. You scoff and make your childish rude remarks and when I react accordingly, you assume you were right and that I am, in fact, this horrid creature."

She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't quite form the words to react. She closed her mouth and bit her lip, letting him continue.

"Perhaps, if you were to treat me with a little decency and assume the best of me, rather than the worst, I may just surprise you." She didn't say anything for a long second and he wondered if, maybe, he might have gotten through to her.

"A self-fulfilling prophesy includes a belief that is declared as truth when it is actually false," she replied. "My belief that you are cruel and vindictive is not false. It's not a self-fulfilling prophesy."

"Was I cruel and vindictive to you last night?" He challenged. "Have I ever been cruel and –"

"You wanted to kill me!" She replied, a little too loudly. Clearing her throat and lowering her voice, she continued. "You wanted me to be the vampire that helped break your hybrid curse."

He made a face, remembering the events. "It was a long time ago."

"It happened."

"You'll forgive me, sweetheart. I didn't know you." Looking back on it now, he realized what a great mistake he would have made, killing someone as amazing as her. "I realize it would have been a mistake." Giving it more thought, he raised a finger. "To balance the scale, I believe you played a role in the many attempts to kill me." She opened her mouth to speak, but he continued. "May I make a suggestion, love?"

She nodded, not quite sure where he was going with this.

"A fresh start?"

She scoffed.

"You will stop using my past offences against me and, in return, I will do the same." This time, it was not a question. It was a statement. This is how it would be, from now on. In the position they were in, they had little choice but to stop bickering and digging up the past. He went back inside the house. "There is a convenience store nearby," he explained.

Caroline wrapped herself in the blanket over her mattress. She wasn't quite sure that this was necessary, considering she spent the last few minutes standing in front of him in nothing but a t-shirt, but still she felt more comfortable covering herself.

"They have a TV and, lucky for us, it happens to always play the news." He dug his way through a bag of his belongings.

"And you think no one will notice if you – the one whose face is all over the news – stand in front of the television and stare at your own picture flashing on the screen?"

He took out a pair of contacts and Caroline took a few steps closer to get a better look.

"Changing your eye color won't help. You're still very obviously you."

"I can't exactly cut my hair," he said.

Making her way across the room, she went into their closet and looked through the clothes on his side. "You need to stop with the v-necks." She said, confidently. Taking out a hooded sweater, she threw it on his mattress. Grabbing a pair of jeans, she threw those on the mattress, too. "You'll wear that," she commanded.

He smirked at how quickly she took over.

* * *

The convenience store was in the basement of an apartment building.

Klaus strolled into the elevator, trying to be as less like himself as possible. Caroline followed. She was wearing a dress with a pair of boots and a jean jacket. Her bangs covered her eyebrows. She peaked at him through her lashes and, if she wasn't mistaken, she saw a ghost of a smile crossing his lips. Was he getting a kick out of this? Was this fun for him? She leaned against wall of the elevator. She felt his eyes on her, boring into her.

The energy between them changed in a split second. The elevator, being so small, forced them to be in close proximity with one another. Their shoulders touched and it appeared as though the elevator was going slower than it was supposed to. Actually, it appeared not to be moving at all. He remembered her stepping outside in nothing but his shirt. His mind flashed back to thoughts of her body against his. He imagined what it would be like to kiss her. Would she pull away? Would she yell? Maybe, she would kiss him back. He would like that. He put a hand over his mouth, lightly tracing where he wanted her lips to touch him. He turned away from her. From the corner of his eye, he saw her lick her lips and the air around him became too thick to inhale. He wasn't quite sure what exactly possessed him to do what he did next.

Caroline let out a gasp as his hand came around to the back of her head. He pulled on her short hair, lightly, so that her head flew back and he had easy access to her mouth. She didn't have a chance to pull back. She felt him push her tighter against the wall of the elevator, with his hips. She moaned into his mouth and he took full advantage of her moment of weakness. His tongue explored her mouth. Every rational thought she had escaped her. Her tongue stroked his and her hands found his shoulders and pulled him into her. From his shoulders, they found the back of his head and then the sides of his face. His hands explored her body and she heard a soft moan escape him. She had never been kissed like that before. Her knees grew weak with want. She wanted him. Here. _Now_. She forgot who he really was. She forgot who she was. She forgot everyone's judgments and opinions. It was almost as though he knew that her knees were giving out on her. He lowered himself, their mouths still connecting them, and she felt his warm hands on the back of her knees. He pulled up, so that her feet lifted off the floor and her legs came around his waist. He kept her pinned between his body and the wall. She couldn't breathe.

A small elevator sound brought Klaus back to reality and he moved his hands so that her feet were on the floor, once again. He felt as though his entire body was on fire and he ached with desire for her. If the look in her eyes was any indication, she wanted him with the same intensity as he wanted her. He cleared his throat, softly, and composed himself.

_What the hell just happened?_ His hands left her waist and he separated them, leaving a gap of cold air between them. She couldn't move, still in shock from the explosion of desire that came over every inch of her body. She looked at him, her lips swollen and red from his kiss. She saw that pure moment again. The moment before his guards went up. He wanted her. The kiss left him needing. She blinked and that's all it took for his defenses to emerge. He hiked up his hood and walked out of the elevator, without a word. She remained in her spot, hot and bothered. She could barely breathe and her entire body ached for him to release her. Her hand covered her lips, remembering the intensity of their kiss.

"Are you coming?" He asked, nonchalantly. A soft smirk escaped him, realizing the reaction his kiss elicited. She kissed him back. Perhaps, if they had more time, she would have done more than kiss him. _Maybe on the way back_, he thought, smiling a soft and confident smile.

She pulled down her dress and attempted to tame her messy hair. "Yeah," she breathed, following him out of the elevator. "Coming."

* * *

**Leave reviews, please! What did you like? What didn't you like? Tell me everything :)**

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	6. Must Have Done Something Right

**Thank you all so much for the reviews! They really mean so much to me and I am so happy that you guys are enjoying the fic. **

**Just a reminder that this is a fic and will not always be the same as what we see on the show. As characters in my fic, they are somewhat different than what you will see on TVD. For example, I'm pretty sure my Klaus is a little softer (although you will be seeing a more dangerous side of his emerging soon) and Caroline is kind of nicer to him. Also, Tyler/Caroline - NOT the "epic" relationship you see on the show. Casual dating, in this fic.**

**Okay, moving on...**

* * *

They were back "home", again.

Klaus was edgy, Caroline observed. He opened the door for her, rather violently. It smacked into the wall of the house. He closed it behind him with a smack. She watched a new nervous habit of his emerge right before her eyes: he twisted his fake wedding band on his finger. It forced her to look down at her hand, looking at her matching band. She knew why he was nervous. The news gave him no new information. Truthfully, Caroline thought it was too far-fetched that they would figure anything out that way. All that was revealed was that the police were looking for them…but Klaus and she already knew that.

More than anything, Caroline wanted to call her mom. Maybe she would give them some information. She couldn't call, though. She knew that. First, the less her mom knew the better. Second, if she was being completely honest with herself, she was too scared to contact anyone in Mystic Falls. They made judgments on her disappearing with Klaus. She knew that. She wasn't prepared to hear them. She didn't want to answer questions. Especially, not after what happened in the elevator.

Klaus had yet to mention the elevator. He walked out as though nothing happened, leaving her practically panting with desire as she took a few swift steps after him and matched his speed. He walked into the convenience store, getting rid of his usual confident stance. It was an interesting change. She didn't expect him to say anything while listening to the news, but the car ride was spent in a painful silence. Painful for Caroline, that is. Her mind wouldn't stop flashing to thoughts of the kiss, despite her best efforts to think of other things. What made him kiss her like that? It was so random and…it was…god, it was so good. _Stop it!_ She snapped herself out of it for the hundredth time in the last few hours. She wondered if maybe Klaus was thinking about the kiss, also. He said nothing, giving her the impression that it did not affect him in quite the same way. It made her self-loathing worse. The kiss should not have affected her at all. She shouldn't care. She was with Tyler…sort of…was she?

Klaus paced around the small room. Putting his fingers on the zipper of his hoodie, he unzipped it and took it off, revealing himself in a form-fitting, black, shirt. He hated that hoodie. Quite frankly, he wasn't quite certain what possessed him to buy it. It was absolutely hideous. It resembled something a fourteen year old would wear, in today's time. Baggy and unflattering. He kept pacing, twisting his wedding band on his finger, as he did so.

"Can you get your hybrids to keep tabs on what's going on in Mystic Falls?" She asked, successfully straying away from thoughts of the kiss. "I mean, that's why you made them, right?"

He stopped pacing. He kept quiet, thinking over her words. He would, but he didn't trust them. If Tyler could break the sire-bond, so could his other hybrids. And, even if they couldn't, he was unable to compel them to not say a word to anyone in Mystic Falls. Yes, they could keep tabs for him and inform him of what is going on, but he would have to be prepared for the possibility of one of them outing him. "No," he said simply.

"What about your family?" She felt nervous, bringing them up. From what she understood, they were a touchy subject, for him.

"Maybe," he replied. He thought about that himself, once or twice, over the last few days. They couldn't help him compel his way out of this, but they could let him know where the cops are, in their investigation. They could help him. It was quite possible that they would not _want_ to help him.

"You don't trust them?" She asked, instantly regretting it. As fascinating as she found him and his complexities, getting to the bottom of them terrified her. It seemed that they more she got to know him, the harder it became to hate him. She silently hoped he would not answer her question.

"It's complicated," he said.

It was only now that something occurred to her. "So, you basically have no plan?" She watched him sit down on his mattress and tap his foot against the floor, lightly. He was tense. "Klaus," She pushed.

She was right. He had no plan. His only plan was to stay invisible, and that was already failing. This was different than all the times he was running from Mikael. This time, he had no way to compel people to do what he wanted, he couldn't get a witch on his side, he couldn't even fucking feed the way he wanted to. Even his hybrids were useless to him, now. He had no one on his side…except the person that was, quite literally, standing by his side right now: Caroline. Although he appreciated her presence and company, he would not go as far as to say that he trusted her. He had little reason to trust her, other than the hope that she was smart enough to realize he was all she had, too. But, what if? What if she left? What if the cops came searching and she gave him up? He had every intention of protecting her, but would she protect him? That was yet to be determined.

"I knew it, you have nothing!" She snapped him out of his thoughts with her rather loud conclusion. She lowered her voice. "Are we still staying here?" _Please, say no._

"Yes," he said calmly. Without another word, he laid down on his bed…er…air mattress. This was so fucking uncomfortable. He kept quiet, only indicating his discomfort with a small groan that may, or may not, have been heard by Caroline. He allowed himself to think back on the kiss that happened between them. It was surprising to him that Caroline reacted the way that she did. He was expecting her to push him away, not encourage him. It was a pleasant surprise. The kiss was rather enjoyable. He smiled, a little, becoming consumed with thoughts of kissing her like that again.

She sat on her mattress, next to him, without a word. She was bored out of her mind and all she could do was think about that stupid kiss. Why could she not focus on anything else? She took out a magazine and looked through the pages. She tried to focus on pointless celebrity gossip and the latest styles, but she couldn't. Getting her head up, from the pages of the magazine, she finally snapped. "Are we going to talk about the kiss?"

He popped his head up, surprised by the outburst. He blinked at her, not saying anything, and lifted himself so that he was now sitting up on the mattress. Truthfully, he was quite happy that she was devoting so much energy and thoughts to the kiss. _She enjoyed it_, he thought to himself, happily. She looked somewhat angered, sitting in front of him. He tried to keep himself from smirking. It was fun, getting such a rise out of her.

"You kissed me," she said matter-of-factly, pushing for a response.

He couldn't help himself. A smile escaped him. "I know," he said. He bit his lip, trying to bring some seriousness to his face, but it just wasn't working.

"It's not funny!" She snapped at his cocky smile. "You kiss me and then you just pretend like it never happened. I mean, what the hell was that? Why did you do it? You practically attacked me!" She stopped her rambling and crossed her arms.

So, which one of those statements and questions was he to tackle first? The part about him attacking her was a little too far-fetched for his liking. He wouldn't describe the kiss as such. What was it and why did it happen? It was a kiss, obviously. Perhaps, it was him succumbing to what he wanted to do since the first time he saw her. She wouldn't like the answers he had for her questions. He decided to answer the first point she raised.

"I'm not pretending…I'm aware that it happened," he told her. Her expression indicated that she was not satisfied with his answer. Pausing for a moment, he decided there was no reason that he had to be in the, metaphorical, "hot-spot" alone. She could be there with him.

"Which part would you like to discuss, Caroline?" He asked. "Would you like to discuss me kissing you, or the part where you wrapped your legs around me and kissed me back?" Her expression told him that she was now in that hot-spot with him. Now, he was content.

She swallowed harshly at the memory. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. "The part where I have a boyfriend," she said strongly.

He was no longer content with the direction of this conversation. "I don't believe you two have much of a relationship to speak of. After all, you did leave him for me." He tried to sound casual, not giving in to his strong distaste for the mere mention of Tyler.

The wording of his sentence stung her. "I did not leave him for you."

"Are you with him right now?" He challenged, knowing the answer would not be one she was comfortable saying out loud.

She said nothing.

"You are here with me," he said firmly. There, that gave him the upper-hand, didn't it?

"You shouldn't have kissed me," was all she could say. She said it strongly and with conviction.

What started out as fun suddenly became annoying. The mention of Tyler had spoiled his mood. "It won't happen again," he said with confidence. He meant it. _You will kiss me, one day_, he thought to himself. Changing the topic, he said "I need to leave."

"What?" She asked. Her voice a little too frightened. She scolded herself for being so clingy. "Why?" She asked, successfully sounding casual and unworried, this time.

"Going to go see Ethan," he told her as he got off the mattress and placed the atrocious hoodie back on himself. "The boy from yesterday," he clarified.

"He asked you to come back?" She couldn't hide the surprise from her voice.

"Not in so many words. He doesn't speak much."

"He's scared of you, maybe." She silently hoped that he would not take offence to her guess. No matter who he was, he was a stranger so it made sense that the boy would not speak to him.

"Maybe," he said quietly. He walked out of the house. Taking a few steps outside the door, he realized she was not with him. He walked back. "Aren't you coming?"

She didn't realize he wanted her to. Getting up, she mumbled, "Okay."

* * *

Caroline sat in the passenger's seat, looking at Klaus from the corner of her eye. He parked the car, in the same spot as he did last time, and leaned back on his seat. He seemed calm and collected. He was playing with his wedding band again. Caroline had made the assumption that it was a nervous habit, but maybe she was wrong. He didn't appear to be nervous. He sat, very much composed and in control of himself.

"Are you okay?" She asked, hoping to get a better understanding of the gesture. Maybe she was overreacting and he was just doing it because he was bored.

He looked from the house to Caroline. "Yeah," he played off his nerves. Judging by her skeptical expression, she wasn't buying his white lie. "He doesn't talk much," he explained his concern.

She was right. It was a nervous habit. "How do you know he wanted you to come back?" She looked at the house. It was getting dark out and it looked as though no one was home.

"He nodded, when I asked." He couldn't keep the uncertainty from his voice. Maybe this was all for nothing.

Caroline opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when she saw a small figure look outside the window. "Is that him?"

Klaus got out of the car. Coming around the other side, he opened the door for Caroline. They stood in front of the car, waiting for the boy to come out.

The boy waited for Klaus, Caroline realized. She watched him emerge from the house, cautiously. His hair covered his eyes so much so that Caroline wondered if he saw them at all. He ran a hand through his hair and clumsily removed the hair from his eyes. He was standing in front of them now, giving Caroline a curious glance. Caroline looked at Klaus.

"This is a special friend of mine," Klaus introduced Caroline without hesitation.

_Special friend? What the hell does that mean? Special friend. _"I'm…" she paused, not knowing how to introduce herself. She looked at Klaus, hoping he would give her a hint. He didn't. "My name is…um…Caroline." She immediately wondered if this was a mistake. She looked back at Klaus, and if she wasn't mistaken, saw a hint of a smile. She assumed this meant that she gave Ethan the correct name.

The boy said nothing to either of them. For a moment, an awkward silence lingered amongst the three of them, and Klaus wondered why the boy would want him to return if he had no intention of speaking.

"So…" Caroline attempted to break the silence. The silence around them led Caroline to the assumption Klaus had done all the talking last time. He seemed to have expressed genuine concern for the boy. How the hell was she supposed to hate him, when he was capable of something like that? She glanced at the boy, who was no longer looking at her. He started to walk away. She glanced at Klaus, who didn't make a move. The boy must have noticed, because he took a few steps back and grabbed Klaus by the index finger, leading him somewhere. As a chain reaction, Klaus took hold of Caroline's wrist, insuring that she would follow.

They walked for about a minute, or two, and ended up standing in front of a crappy looking basket ball hoop. Ethan rushed into the bushes and came out with a basket ball a few seconds later. Caroline and Klaus look at each other, both somewhat puzzled.

"You want to play?" Caroline asked, taking a few steps towards Ethan. He handed her the ball and she looked from the ball to the basket ball hoop, and then back to the ball. Hearing Klaus smirk behind her, she turned around. "You think this is funny?"

He stifled a laugh. "Not at all, love."

"I get it. You don't think I can do it."

"Your words, not mine." In all fairness, judging by her appearance and behaviour, it did not seem as though he was wrong. She stood in front of him, her long legs crossed, one over the other. The skirt of her dress swayed in the wind, lightly. Her heels did not inspire much confidence either.

She smiled, knowing how wrong he was. Matt taught her a lot, in their short relationship. This was one of those things. She took a few steps back, demonstratively. Allowing herself a small, confident, smile she threw the ball into the net. It whirled around the net once…then twice…for a second, Caroline thought her confident smirk was for nothing…and then it went through the net. She hopped up with a girlish squeal.

Klaus arched a brow in disbelief. His dimples peaked though, as he allowed a smile to cross his face. "Very impressive, Mrs. Williamson."

She smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Williamson."

It was only after she said it that she realized what just happened. This was the first time she really acknowledged their fake marriage and the first time she embraced it. They just had a weird-hubby-slash-wife-moment, didn't they? And she went along with it? She wanted to take back her words, because they were slowly eating her up. If only her friends heard her. She took comfort, knowing the exchange would stay between her and Klaus, only.

She looked down at the ground, allowing her bangs to sweep over her eyes. By the time she looked up, he was no longer next to her. She searched for him, for a second, before finding that he and Ethan were playing a one-on-one game. She watched the interaction in a slight shock. This was not the same person she was trained to hate. She found herself wondering what it would take to get the other Klaus to emerge. He wouldn't be able to keep up the nice act forever, would he? He would turn on her, one day, she assumed. Maybe, if she made him angry enough, one day. Or, maybe he would just get bored and rip her heart out? She was safe with him, for now. But, how long would that last? How long before he decides to just toss her aside?

She tried to shake those thoughts out of her head and watch the wonderful game unfolding in front of her. Ethan was good. She silently wondered who taught him. Maybe, he taught himself. Klaus was surprisingly good as well. Somehow, she never pictured that this would be his game. In hindsight, it made sense that he was good at it. Being around for that long, there was probably very little that he didn't know how to do. It was quite intimidating. She smiled, realizing that he was letting Ethan win. Then, suddenly, the moment passed and disappeared into the wind.

Klaus dropped the ball. He bent down, so that he was at eye level with Ethan and quietly mumbled something to him.

It was then that Caroline realized she could hear them. Her vampire hearing was back. Before she could react, Klaus was rushing towards her. Without a word, he grabbed her by the wrist again and practically dragged her behind him. She fought free from his grip on her wrist, and he took that as a hint to take her hand instead. They ended up behind a large bush.

"Can you hear me?" Caroline said so quietly that a human would not hear her, even if they were right next to her.

"Yes," Klaus replied. His eyes tried to find a small window through the bushes, so that he could see what was happening on the other side. "I heard his father leaving the house." He explained why they were now hiding out in the bushes.

Yes, their vampire hearing was definitely back. They watched, quietly, as the man approached Ethan. The man was very nicely dressed and looked after. Looking at him, Caroline would never make the assumption that he was an abusive man. He looked angry and in no mood to be challenged. Ethan practically shook at his presence. Caroline wanted to hold the boy and make him feel safe. She couldn't. She looked at Klaus, who stayed still, with his fists clenched. Looking back at Ethan, he was walking back home, with the man next to him. His head was bowed down, and his shoulders slouched.

Klaus got up, passing Caroline a hand to help her up. He listened, silently, until he heard the door to the boy's house close. "You can hear?" He asked Caroline.

"Yeah."

A smile left him. Finally, at least something was going right today. "I knew they couldn't hold us powerless for long."

She pursed her lips, wondering if she should break his happy bubble. He must have caught her expression, because he asked her what was wrong. "I think they _could_…if they wanted to," she explained. "Can you feed…the way that you like to feed?"

He ran his tongue across his top teeth. He couldn't.

"And you probably can't compel anyone either. So they only gave us back the hearing."

And there was a reason for that, he realized. What the reason was, he couldn't quite understand just yet. What did understand was that Caroline was right. This was part of some greater plan, created by the witches. There was a reason his powers were taken away and there was a reason he got one of them back, just now. His question was: what the hell did he do to earn it back and what did he have to do to get the rest of them back?

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**One thing I wanted to ask you guys is how are you liking the Ethan character and what he brings to Klaus/Klaroline? More or less of him? I know where I want to take his character, but if you guys are not enjoying it, I can move some things around and include less. **

**Oh and one more thing that I wanted to mention...SPOILERISH (for the fic). You might want to not read, if you don't want hints on future chapters:**

_The relationship development (for Klaroline) is different than what you read in Only in a Dream (for those who read it). I'm playing around with it in this fic and...lets just say you won't have to wait as long for Klaroline sex in this fic. Just saying..._

**Carry on. **

**Please leave reviews :)**


	7. A Picture of Your Soul

**You guys, thank you so much for the lovely reviews and for taking time to read this story! It really means a lot to me and I love reading everything you have to say. Tell me more! Even if it's not so nice, it will help me improve and become better.**

**Okay, so on to chapter 7...**

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Taking a sharp breath, Klaus dove below the surface of the water. He allowed the cold water to hug him and hold him, taking away all his negative thoughts – at least temporarily. The water swallowed him whole and he allowed himself to embrace it and take comfort in its ice-cold temperature. Finally coming up for air, he pushed his wet hair from his eyes. The shampoo from his hair left rings around him. No longer needing the shampoo bottle, he threw it on the land, without looking. He could hear it fall next to his towel. He smiled, knowing that his vampire hearing was back and that he was one step closer to being himself again. Diving into the water again, he decided to go for a short swim, before Caroline woke up.

Caroline walked quickly outside of the house, looking around for Klaus. She took a moment to look at her surroundings. There was no one around, giving her an odd mix of emotions. She felt an interesting comfort, knowing that she was safe and secluded, away from this harsh world. Just as she felt safe, she also felt anxious, knowing that Klaus could toss her aside the second he got bored. She didn't see him. Hearing the light splashing of some water, she walked to the small lake behind the church. The cold-almost-November-air hit her face and caused her bangs to fly from her eyes. Although she was not cold, she placed a blanket over herself and enjoyed the familiar feeling of comfort that it gave her. She wrapped herself in it, as she walked. The ground below her was soft and damp from last night's rain. She stopped, seeing a dry towel on the ground. Looking up from the ground, her mouth flew open.

She froze.

He stood, facing away from her and towards the sunrise. He combed through his wet hair with his fingers. Still frozen at the sight, Caroline took in the extraordinary shape of his body, as she saw it against the sunrise. Drops of water danced down his bare body. Her eyes looked from his head, to his shoulders, to his muscular back, to his – shit, he was naked.

"My god, Klaus!" She snapped herself out of her admiration, covering her eyes lightly and averting her eyes back to the floor below her feet. It was only after she made her little outburst that she realized she should have handled this differently. He didn't know she was there. She could have just turned around, walked back, and never mentioned it.

He snapped around to face her. Shit. He had two choices: A) walk shamelessly or B) hop back into the water. She was looking down at the floor, so he chose option A. He placed a hand in front of himself, awkwardly, to cover himself. There was just one tiny problem. She was standing on a piece of his towel. She wasn't moving and her eyes were not leaving the floor. Suddenly, this all appeared to be rather amusing. He could swear she was blushing. He smirked and raised a brow. "May I have my towel, please?"

She stared blankly at the ground. Moving from her spot had not even occurred to her. Her mind went blank and all she could think about was that she just saw him naked. Her cheeks burned and she felt as though her skin was on fire. She was torn between feelings of awkwardness, embarrassment (did he think she was watching him?), and plain lust. She replied with only a slight nod.

He bent down to pick up the towel. Her foot had not moved from the edge of the towel, so he tugged on it and she let it go. He placed it over himself, loosely. "I didn't know you were standing here," he let her know.

"I wasn't watching, or anything," she blurted out. _God, Caroline, really? Shut up!_

Drops fell from his hair and into his eyes. He ran a hand though his hair again, brushing it out of his face. "Okay," he said simply. She still wasn't looking at him. "Is there something you wanted?"

_Yes_. Her mouth opened to speak. "I-" her mind went blank. _Shit_. If she was human, her cheeks would be burning a fire-y red, right about now. Shit. She looked at him for a brief second. "I…I forgot," she whispered, accidently out loud. She squeezed her eyes shut, in embarrassment. She opened them, a second later, just in time to see him smirking in that cocky way he usually does. She looked back at the ground. _Get it together, Caroline!_ She looked back up. "This never happened!" She said told him matter-of-factly. And with that, she turned around and walked back into the house.

He followed her, completely amused by the reaction.

"Is there anyth-" he stopped in the doorway of the house. He looked at the wall in front of him, his heart slowly sinking to his feet. A feeling of discomfort washed over him, rapidly. "When did you do this?"

She followed his eyes, as he looked around the room. She couldn't tell if he was angry. "Are you mad?"

He said nothing, his eyes fixed at the wall in front of him.

"I know I should have asked but…" She realized now, it was more than likely not a good idea to do what she did. To say he was moody was an understatement and she had no way of knowing that he would react well to this. "I'm sorry." She apologized, hurriedly, and walked to the wall he was staring at. "I'll take them down –"

"No," he interrupted.

The first night they were here, he couldn't sleep. He was up most of the night. All he had on him was a shitty sketchbook from Wal-Mart and a pencil. It was all he needed that night, to help him get out of his own head and relax for a little bit. There were a total of seven sketches, each abstract. Most of them were dark, filled with dark shades of grey and black. They best expressed his turmoil, anger, and even fears. He guessed those remained in the black bag that was filled with his belongings. There were two of his sketches taped to the wall in front of him. Of the seven he did, those were the two lightest ones. One was of a woman by the lake. She was facing away from the viewer and her golden locks dripped over her shoulders and down her back. That particular figure aside, the rest of the sketch was abstract. He wondered if Caroline realized that sketch was of her. The one below was more abstract than the one above, but still filled with lighter shades and pencil strokes. Although he didn't plan it to be such, it expressed his happier thoughts on leaving Mystic Falls. The woman he was infatuated was by his side, he managed to get her away from everyone (hoping now she would stop listening to everyone's ridiculous opinions of him), and – although they were running – it was a hopeful fresh start. The two sketches she picked out expressed not his sadistic and monstrous emotions, but rather the small drop of kindness he had left.

"I didn't look through your stuff," she explained. "I guess when you took out your towel, they kind of…you didn't put them back in the bag and I saw them, when I woke up." She tried not to focus on his towel, only loosely tied and hanging from his hips. She focused on his expression, trying to steer her eyes away from his wet body.

She didn't dabble in arts too much but, based on anything she ever heard, art was supposed to express ones emotions. It occurred to her, only now, that by hanging up the pictures she may have reminded him of whatever emotion he had while sketching these two pieces. She never did the right thing, did she? "Can you say something?" She was practically begging him.

He snapped out of his thoughts. "Why did you pick them?"

"I just thought it might make this place feel more like home."

"No," he said, realizing she misunderstood. "Of the ones that you saw, why did you pick those two?"

"Well, the other ones…they were…"

She couldn't quite find the words to explain how she felt about them. They were beautifully done and very detailed, but they made her feel worried. They were made of violent streaks and dark shades. Looking at them gave her a glimpse into his dark soul and forced her to be aware of his tortured ways. It scared her that she was on the run with a man who carried so much hatred within himself. These two, on the other hand, were quite the opposite. The contrast between them was like black and white. Looking at the two she hung up, she saw serenity and, perhaps, even happiness.

"They were what?" He pushed for a response, guarded.

She stuttered, for a moment, wanting to find a nice way to phrase her thoughts. "I just get the feeling that you were happier, when you were sketched these two."

"Yes," he breathed.

He had drawn a picture for her before, but this was different. The drawing he gave her was created with the intention of wooing her. He was very much in control of the emotions that may have been conveyed through that piece. This was not the case with the two she picked out. He was not controlling his emotions, when putting pencil to paper. Rather, all of his emotions were spilled onto the page. He was beginning to feel somewhat emotionally exposed. He was curious as to how much these sketches revealed to her. Clearly, she understood the emotional contrast between those two and the other five. For a second, he wanted to ask her if she understood what they were about. He decided against it, thinking it may provoke her to analyze them and dig into his soul. Somehow, the idea of her analyzing the darker sketches made him more comfortable than her analyzing the lighter ones. Dark emotions covered him and shielded him, while the lighter ones made him feel unguarded from emotional pain.

She watched him walk away, without any other words. He did not appear angry, but she realized she shouldn't have done that. It obviously evoked some type of emotion that made him uncomfortable. She looked at the sketches, trying to understand why it would cause such a reaction. _They're happy…ish_, Caroline thought to herself. _Why would he be uncomfortable with a reminder of something happy?_ If anything, she guessed, he would be more uncomfortable with one of the darker sketches hanging on the wall. Whatever, she wasn't about to try to figure out his reaction. He was a puzzle she'd never solve, she decided as she reached up, to take the sketches down.

Klaus emerged from the bathroom, now wearing jeans and a sweater. "Keep them up," he commanded. He himself couldn't quite understand why he wanted them to be left hanging. The thought of her looking at them for too long made him uncomfortable, yet he didn't want them taken down. He walked outside, not wanting to dwell on it.

She followed him, confused by the mixed signals. She watched as he put together a few falling leaves, some branches, some wood, and took out a lighter. "What are you doing?"

"Starting a fire," he said calmly. "There's meat in the cooler."

She leaned back against the wall of the house, watching him. "Doesn't this take you back to the good old days of the tenth century?" She smiled. "Making your own fire and whatnot…cooking your own meat."

He smiled light-heartedly, not taking his eyes off what he was doing.

"You guys probably chanted around the fire, naked, or something…" she carried on her ramble.

"Not exactly," he smiled at her. "But if you're offering to take your clothes off and dance around the fire, I won't be one to stop you."

"You're not funny," she said dryly. His smile had not faded. Suddenly, in a terrifying second, his hand came tightly around her neck. She inhaled sharply and fearfully, instinctively putting her hand over the one he had wrapped around her neck. For a second, she thought was going to choke her. The blanket she had wrapped around herself fell off her shoulder, as she raised her hand, and revealed the strap of her tank-top.

"What is this?" He ignored her fearful response to his sudden action. He felt her hand over his, trying to pull his hand away from her neck. He loosened it, making it clear he had no intention of harming her.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?" She hissed at him, angrily.

"No need for coarse language, love." He ran a hand across a scar he noticed on her neck. A vampire bite. "Why have I not seen this before?" He asked himself, not expecting an answer from her.

She swallowed harshly, still breathing fearfully. She kept a hand on his, a fear playing in her head that he would end her life right then and there. "I cover it with make up," she explained. "I forgot, today."

"Who did this to you?" He loosened his grip on her neck completely, so that she was free to move away. She stayed in place and he took the opportunity to run a hand across the healed wound again.

She closed her eyes, shivering from his touch. "Doesn't matter," she said in a strong tone. She took a step away from him, rubbing her neck. This conversation was the last thing that she needed. _What is this? He knows exactly what this is._ "This is nothing you haven't done to somebody else," she informed as she took yet another step back and covered her bare shoulders with the blanket, again. She arranged her hair so that it covered the scar.

He composed himself, knowing she would not tell him. He would find out, one day. Her words played in his head. _Nothing you haven't done to somebody else._ She was right, perhaps. He's fed on humans and often times left a scar where his teeth had sunk into them. Still, these words made him uncomfortable. Knowing someone had done this to her made him uncomfortable with his own past actions. He brushed the thoughts away, not wanting to look at feeding from this perspective and went back to what he was doing.

"I remember what I wanted to ask you," she said quietly, after a few short moments of silence. A change of topic would be nice, right about now.

"What is it?" He got the fire going.

"Where are we going to go next? You said this is temporary." She hoped that he would tell her to pack her bags and leave this dreaded house-slash-church, now.

"Pick a place," he replied with ease. She shot him a confused look, so he explained. "We will go anywhere you want."

She didn't expect this reaction. "Anywhere…like another town, or another country?"

"Another country," he told her. He remembered her saying she had never been anywhere. Perhaps, this would be a nice experience for her. She didn't say anything, only stared at him with wide eyes. "You have some time to think about it. We're practically invisible here…we will stay for a little while longer."

"Aren't you afraid money will run out?" _Probably not, considering he's loaded. Then again, all he has is a suitcase full of money and it's becoming lighter and lighter._

"Elijah agreed to help us," he informed.

She raised her brows in surprise. "Elijah? When did this happen?"

"While you were sleeping."

"While I was sleeping?" She echoed. "Do _you_ ever sleep?" She didn't expect an answer, but now that she thought about it, she had never seen him sleep. Once, in the car, when they first arrived. Even then, it was a light sleep. He may not have even been sleeping, only resting with his eyes closed. _Well, great. Now there is yet another mystery with him._

"Occasionally," he replied quietly. He didn't need to get into details of his sleeping patterns with her. He didn't sleep very much…so what? Hopefully, she would not dig around for explanations. And with that, he went inside the house.

Caroline leaned back against the wall and watched the flames of the fire dance before her eyes. Where would they go? She could choose, she remembered. The thought of choosing was a little intimidating for her, considering she very rarely had a choice in anything. Where did she want to go? She's never been anywhere – not even Canada. And Klaus…Klaus has been everywhere, she was sure of it. Why would he allow her to choose, when he clearly had more knowledge in the matter?

"Excuse me, miss?"

Caroline popped her head up, hearing the unfamiliar voice. A man in a uniform stood before her, holding a picture between his index and middle finger. As a vampire, her heart was lifeless, but she was so nervous she could swear she could feel it beating like a drum. She pursed her lips and looked down at the ground, knowing that when she looked back up her bangs would cover her eyes.

"Have you seen the woman in this picture?"

Caroline glanced at the photograph. The woman in the photograph had long, curled, golden hair and a smile from ear to ear. She was looking at a picture of herself…or at least who she used to be. She tugged at the blanket around her, hoping to get back to the feeling of safety she felt earlier. She stared intently at the picture the man held in front of her face.

_Hello, Caroline Forbes. _

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**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review, please :) **

**And follow my Klaroline blog, if you feel like it!**

**i-enjoy-you**

**(ps, for the person that asked for a visual of Caroline's hair, it can be found here: [insert my tumblr URL] /post/33728006272/i-got-a-review-on-my-fic-asking-for-a-visual-of )**


	8. 1, 2, 3, Here We Go

**So, it's raining and I have a day off. Perfect time to proof-read and post this next chapter (sooner than I expected). I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! It really means a lot to me!**

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Caroline swallowed fearfully and attempted to keep her composure. She stood straight, no longer leaning against the wall, but for a second kept a hand on the wall behind her, to balance herself. She was so fearful that he might recognize her that she froze. How different did she look? She remembered reading that people first recognize others by looking at their eyes. Lucky for her, her bangs were very much in the way.

"Do you know who this is, miss?" The officer asked again. If she was not mistaken, he appeared to be irritated that he needed to ask her a second time.

"Yes," she said in a slightly deepened voice, suddenly faking confidence. "That's the girl from the news," she clarified.

Suddenly, she heard Klaus' voice. She didn't dare look around or give away that anything out of the ordinary was happening. He was inside the house and the cop in front of her couldn't hear him. "Good," she heard Klaus say.

"Are you staying here?" The cop gestured to the abandoned church behind her. He appeared to be at a crossroads between skepticism and judgment. His eyes analyzed the barely-standing house. The door was open, but only a little. If he looked from where he was standing, he wouldn't see much. If he took a few steps closer, however, he would be able to see the mattress' they had set up, in the corner, and a few other scattered belongings.

She wanted to faint, right then and there. She couldn't breathe, feeling as though there was not enough air around her. _Please, don't go in there_, she begged the cop silently. She could hear Klaus inside the house. They were standing on the opposite side of the same wall.

"Tell him you and your husband are on a road trip and stopped for a small break," she heard Klaus say.

She casually cleared her throat and demonstratively played with her wedding band. "My husband and I are on a road trip. I don't drive," she explained, "and he needed a little break." She glanced at the burning fire. "It's a little chilly," she pointed at the fire. "No matter how many times I tell him to keep an extra jacket in the car, he never listens to me."

"Where is he now?" The cop leaned back to get a glimpse inside the house through the small crack in the doorway. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he leaned back and faced Caroline – or, more precisely, Elizabeth Williamson.

"I went to look around," Klaus told Caroline.

She laughed, attempting to sound lighthearted but it came out fake. "Oh, he just wondered off to look around. He always does. Very adventurous, that one." She was drawing on past experiences of hearing married couples talking about each other. She hoped she sounded believable.

The cop nodded, skeptically. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a second photograph. "If you see this man," he showed her a picture of Klaus, "or this woman, please notify me." He reached into his pocket and gave her a cheap, practically construction paper-made, business card.

She took it, hoping her hands would stop shaking long enough to grab it with ease. She watched him walk away, never looking back. She placed one hand across her chest and exhaled slowly, trying to keep up a confident stance. She had been avoiding looking at her reflection, since her hair was cut, but now she really wanted to rush to the nearest mirror and really focus on how different she looked, hoping to understand how a cop holding her picture couldn't recognize her.

"You did great, sweetheart." He walked out, cautiously.

She felt him place his hand on the small of her back and she couldn't help but lean into it, only a little, appreciating the encouragement. _I did, didn't I?_

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About a month and a half passed since that day. They were well into the month of December. The air was cold and crisp, snowflakes occasionally invading their surroundings. The lake was almost frozen, to the point where it was too cold – even for them – to really shower and do their laundry. They were leaving, today, Klaus told her. For weeks, after the cop left, Caroline begged Klaus to leave. He explained to her than if the cops had already looked here and no one saw the people from the picture, chances were good that they wouldn't look again.

It was after a few weeks of hearing the same answer that she understood that this was not his real reason for staying. The real reason was Ethan. He went over there every day. Often times, Caroline would go with him. Ethan still didn't speak to them, except for a few selected one or two word sentences, but that didn't stop the three of them from keeping each other busy. It was with Ethan that Caroline saw a patient and kind side to Klaus, a side she never expected to see. It was a side that made her tear her walls down and allow herself to hate him a little less. The more it dawned on her that it was only she and Klaus, with no one else watching her movements, the more she felt comfortable with her feelings of like towards him. Still, there were days that she wondered how much people hated her back in MysticFalls, for disappearing with Klaus, of all people. She did her best to shake those thoughts out of her head, becoming more and more aware that she would not be back in MysticFalls for a while and, therefore, would not have to deal with all the possible reactions waiting for her at home. Interestingly enough, MysticFalls was beginning to feel less as less like home. This was beginning to feel like home.

It was dark outside now and Klaus had been gone for at least an hour. She was growing worried at his absence. Just as she was about to go to Ethan's and look for the boys, they walked through the door. _Both_ of them. Caroline's eyes softened in sympathy, at Klaus' rather distraught face. She looked at Ethan, who had a large and rather bloody bruise under his right eye. It wasn't there yesterday, she realized. Ethan seemed less shaken up about it than Klaus. It would appear that Ethan accepted this as his reality and gave up fighting against it. Caroline wondered if he ever really fought it. If you're born into something, you simply know no other way. This poor boy did not know that he could be anything other than someone's punching bag.

Without a word, she walked to their cooler and took out some not-so-frozen peas. Sitting him down on her mattress, she handed the peas to him and instructed that he keep it over his eye. She walked back to Klaus. "What happened?" She asked, crossing her arms in seriousness.

"You know he wouldn't tell me," he replied quietly. "I'm quite certain we can make an educated guess and point an accusatory finger at his father." He looked past her to Ethan and then back to her.

It was dark outside and while she understood the potential reasons that Klaus brought him here, she also remembered that he told her they had to leave today. "Are we still leaving today?" She asked, cautiously and with consideration. He didn't say anything in response, provoking her to push for a response. "Klaus," she pushed.

"He's coming with us," he said matter-of-factly.

She crinkled her brows, worried. She looked behind her. Ethan sat where she left him, perfectly still, holding the bag of peas to his eyes. She looked back at Klaus, who stood before her confidently. "Are you crazy?" She asked in a loud whisper. Placing a hand on his shoulder, softly, she guided him to the farthest corner of the room, away from Ethan. "You can't just take a kid," she explained as though she was speaking to a child.

"Of course I can," he replied without hesitation. "I doubt his father will miss him." He moved to walk away, but she hooked him by the elbow, keeping him in place.

"Klaus, think about this." She squeezed his arm, in concern, He looked down to where they made contact and she removed her hand, suddenly aware that she was touching him. "He probably has school and other family members and –I don't think you've thought this through." Quite an interesting turn, she realized. Klaus thought everything through, and yet when it came to this boy all his rational thoughts left him.

"I have thought about this," he told her. He was no accustomed to having his actions questioned and was growing slightly irritated by the way she spoke to him; as though he was a toddler.

"No," Caroline said strongly. It wasn't that she didn't feel sympathy for the boy, because she did. It was just not the logical thing to do. They were already on the run and facing a list of charges. They didn't need to add kidnapping to that list. "Take him home," she said in a strict tone.

He twisted his lips into a devilish sideways smile. "I believe you have misunderstood, sweetheart." He paused for a moment, knowing she would not appreciate what he was about to say. "I am _not_ asking for your permission. I am informing you that this is how it's going to be." His tone left no room for a debate and he did not wait for her response. "Ethan," he called him. "Do you want to stay here, tonight?"

"Klaus!" Caroline whispered loudly, but Klaus didn't even blink at her hiss. She quietly tried to swallow her anger at his reaction. How dare he just put her before a fact and assume she would just go along with it. She had her own opinions, her own thoughts, and given that it was just the two of them, he should not be telling her. He should be asking her.

Ethan nodded, in response to Klaus.

Walking away from Caroline, Klaus bent down in front of Ethan, so that he was at his eye level. "Okay, so here is the deal," he began. "I need you to talk to me."

Caroline waited, curious as to where he was going with this. She put a strand of hair behind her ear and crossed her arms, softly. She hoped Ethan would say something, but he didn't.

"I have questions that I need to ask you, okay," Klaus explained quietly and patiently. "I have to leave, soon. I won't be back." A nervous tension came over him as he said that last sentence.

Ethan's expression suddenly grew horrified and he moved away from Klaus. He gulped, fearfully, but said nothing.

He hoped what he was about to say would put the boy at ease. "I would like for you to come with me, if you want. Is that something you want?" _Come on, kid, talk to me._

Ethan nodded and Caroline could feel her heart breaking. As it turns out, Klaus, aside from being a sadist, was also a masochist. He was intentionally inflicting pain on himself, convincing himself that the boy could go with them. She was sure that he understood, in his heart, that this was not a good idea. She kept silent.

"You need to talk to me," Klaus said firmly. "Do you want to come with us?"

There was a silence in the room. For a second, Klaus looked back at Caroline, as though she was his last hope. She said nothing. She realized the boy wouldn't speak and it appeared that Klaus was coming to the same realization. He ran a hand through his hair and stood up, with a heavy sigh.

"Yes," Ethan said in a small voice, causing Klaus to turn around and face him again.

Caroline heard Klaus let out a light sigh of relief before he sat back down, in front of Ethan. Unless her eyes deceived her, Klaus appeared to have flashed a small smile. It was beautiful, though brief.

"There's a good boy," he said softly. Remembering Caroline's words, he decided to address one of her concerns first. "Do you go to school?" He asked Ethan.

"No." He pouted his lips and crinkled his brow as though it was an obvious answer. He held on to the melting bag of peas and stared at it with disinterest.

"Never?" Caroline interrupted, her brows raised. Ethan shook his head and she bit her lower lip, inflicting physical pain to distract herself from the emotional pain she felt for him.

"What's your last name?" Klaus asked, after giving Caroline a window of opportunity to ask him anything she may have wanted to know.

He looked away in uncertainty. "Spencer…I think. My dad calls himself Andrew Spencer."

_Okay, now we're getting somewhere_. "Is your father the only one responsible for you?"

No response.

"Does anyone else live in your house, besides your father?" Klaus rephrased.

"No." This, he said with confidence.

When he went to pick up Ethan, he didn't hear anyone inside the house. "Is your father home, right now? Do you know?"

"He's not home," he replied quietly.

"Do you know where he is?" This was asked more out of curiosity than anything else.

Without hesitation, he answered, "He's out fucking someone."

Caroline's mouth popped open, in shock from his language. She closed her mouth quickly and placed a hand over it to keep it shut. She looked at Klaus, studying his expression, to see if he heard the same response that she did.

Klaus' eyes widened, his expression indicating that he was as surprised as Caroline. "I'm sorry?" He hoped, for the first time in a long time, that his hearing had failed him.

"He doesn't sleep at home because he likes to fuck whores at night," Ethan explained nonchalantly, obviously not understanding the shock written on both Klaus and Caroline's faces.

"Oh my god," Caroline breathed to herself, putting a hand over her chest. She looked at Klaus, who had his eyes closed as he pressed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. With a sigh, she heard him ask if Ethan knew when his dad would be home.

"At lunch time," Ethan answered.

"You're staying here tonight," Caroline announced, not wanting to hear any more. She made her way to her mattress and shooed him off it. "It's dark and you need to sleep. Klaus will bring you home tomorrow, early in the morning." She fluffed her pillow and unfolded a blanket onto the mattress, for Ethan.

"Caroline –"

She raised a finger, interrupting him. "We wake up early tomorrow morning and if he doesn't change his mind about this before then, we will stop by his place and he needs to grab his clothes…his books…something…we can't just take him without anything." Turning her gaze from what she was doing to Klaus, she said, "I need to talk to you."

He got up, following her outside of the house.

"He's human, Klaus," she told him, her tone blunt.

He raised a brow. "You don't think I know that?"

"I mean he is very small and he's very human. He's very _innocent_," she tried to keep control over her word choices. "He's not something for you to manipulate and control." He looked away from her and she moved so that their eyes met again. "He can get sick and he doesn't heal like we do. He needs food and he needs to get all of his vitamins and proper nutrition." He was looking back at her, his eyes vulnerable. "You're angry and violent. You're impulsive. I've seen you be very cruel. You're destructive."

"Stop." He moved away from her but she moved back in front of him.

"I don't think he can handle seeing you be all of those things," she kept talking, against her better judgment. She wanted to make it clear to him that what he wanted to do could result in serious repercussions, and not only the legal kind.

"Caro—"

"You need to hear this!" She interrupted him. "If you take him, he has to be your _first_ priority! I don't know that you can do that," she explained her fears. He was looking away again and she found herself gripping at his shoulders, to keep him with her. "He's just a child, Klaus. You cannot let yourself break him."

Pain swelled up in his chest at her reminder that he breaks anything and anyone he cares about. His posture straightened and he cleared his throat, putting his walls back up. He looked at her with a barely suppressed anger coloring his eyes. "Are we done here?" His voice was chillingly cold, anger triggered by her remarks.

She let go of his shoulders.

* * *

There was a strong winter blizzard outside. Snowflakes, made their way into the room, like they had every time it snowed. She could hear the wind outside and the unsteady walls shook lightly, making Caroline feel nervous and unsafe in the darkness. The only light source was a small, battery-operated lamp. Childishly, she kept it on, hoping it would bring her a small sense of safety. It wasn't bright, but bright enough that she could vaguely make out her surroundings. She saw Klaus sleeping on the floor, next to the mattress he gave up for her. She turned to Ethan, who was sound asleep on her mattress. He was wrapped in a total of three blankets and Caroline hoped he was not cold. He looked so wonderfully at peace, her heart warmed and she smiled softly at his sleeping face.

She turned back to Klaus, who appeared to be sleeping. He was very still and the only movement Caroline saw from him was the light rise and fall of his chest. His blanket barely covered him and, even though she knew better, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was cold. She shifted on the mattress, moving closer to him. Reaching a hand out, she lightly grabbed the edge of his blanket and pulled it up, so that it covered him. He didn't move, leaving her to assume he was fast asleep. For a second, she wondered if being curled up by his side would make her feel safer, more secluded from the storm outside. She moved an inch closer, now off her mattress and on the floor with him. Being in such close proximity with him overwhelmed her. Still, unable to help herself, she moved so close to him that their skin was touching. She would move, before he woke up, she told herself. No one but her would ever have to know about this. She nuzzled herself against his shoulder.

He groaned, waking up from his light sleep. Feeling warmth to his side, he looked down to see Caroline. He looked behind her, seeing the empty mattress. For a moment, he thought maybe she moved in her sleep. Those thoughts were proven false, as she looked up at him, still at his side. He kept his eyes on her, remaining perfectly still. He could feel her hair against his chest as she moved a little closer and leaned down on him. His lips parted at the sensation of her body so close to him. The fabric of her shirt was the only barrier between them, and he was thankful for it. If it wasn't for this fabric, there would be little he could do to contain himself. He moved his arm, allowing her a space to make herself more comfortable and she gratefully took it, cradling herself against him. He relaxed under her, for the first time in a long time, perfectly content in his surroundings.

Caroline relaxed over him, a feeling of safety washing over her. She closed her eyes, peacefully trying to drift off into sleep. She kept her eyes closed, feeling his hand slide under the blanket and to the dip in her waist, as she rested on her side with her head on his chest. With her eyes still closed, she kissed his bare chest, under her. His fingertips lingered above the fabric of her shirt and slowly made contact with her bare skin. With a soft moan, she arched herself up, only a little, encouraging him. She could feel his hand move, from her waist, down her outer thigh. She opened her eyes, feeling his hot breath on her, as he explored her, causing wonderful sensations to take her over. She smiled, lightly, waiting in anticipation of what he was going to do next. His hand trailed back up her thigh and gripped her butt. He pulled her in closer, so that every part of their bodies touched and she put her bare leg over his. Her sex rubbed against his. As she put a hand on his chest, she could feel his hand slip between her legs. She was wet with want. She moaned as his fingers came inside her. She…...she woke up.

With a small gasp she looked around. He was lying next to her, fast asleep, it appeared. Her leg was over his, as it was in her dream. She was wet for him, as she was in her dream. Her hand was on his chest, just as it was in her dream, but his hands were no where close to where her subconscious wanted them to be. She wanted to move away from the warmth of his body and take control over her needing body, but he held her tightly to him. She had little choice but to stay by his side, quivering with unsatisfied sexual desires. Relaxing against him, once again, she tried to go back to sleep. But, who was she kidding? Sleep was not an option tonight.

* * *

"Caroline, come on, please! Hurry up, love," Klaus whined anxiously.

"Gimme a break, its 5:23 in the morning," she growled at him as she packed up the last of her makeup. "It's still dark out. I barely got any sleep –" She stopped herself, suddenly remembering the torture she faced as she rested against him, painfully aroused by every breath he took.

"You were supposed to pack all of that up yesterday," he continued as he opened the door to the car and gestured for Ethan to hop into the back seat. "Let's go, Mate," he rushed Ethan, too.

"Why would I pack up the makeup yesterday, if I planned on putting it on this morning?" She challenged, somewhat annoyed that he couldn't understand something so simple. Zipping up the makeup bag, she threw it in the seat next to Ethan and hopped in the passenger's seat.

Klaus sat down, with a light slam of the door. He looked longingly at the abandoned church they called home. Twice, now, that church shielded him from outside worries and provided a small sense of safety, no matter how briefly. He blinked, taking himself out of his longing gaze. They had no time to focus on what they were leaving behind. "Okay, here we go," he muttered as he ran his hands along the familiar, leather, steering wheel.

"Are we stopping by Ethan's?" Caroline asked. She gave Ethan a glance.

He shook his head no.

Klaus looked at him through the mirror hanging between him and Caroline. "We're not," he said.

"He doesn't even have a change of clothes," Caroline said in a concerned tone.

"We'll buy him new ones when we get there," Klaus started the car.

"Get where?" She looked at him, with a curious expression. "Where are we going?"

She watched him smile a boyish, genuinely hopeful, smile. She couldn't help but return his expression with a smile of her own.

"Anywhere we want," he told her, as the three of them drove off together, leaving the rest of the world behind them.

* * *

**What did you guys think? Leave reviews, please!**

**Also, just a small heads up - part of the reason that Caroline is warming up to Klaus is because he hasn't murdered anyone, recently. This may, or may not, change once he gets his powers back. Once he gets his fangs, do you all think anything would stop him from draining innocent souls? We'll see... ;)**

**I'm also getting reviews asking for Klaroline sex lol. SOON, I swear haha.**

**i-enjoy-you (tumblr).**


	9. My Constant

**You guys, thank you so much for the lovely reviews! I know this is not everyon's type of story and not everyone would like a fic like this, so for those than do like it, THANK YOU so much for being vocal about it! It's great motivation and very encouraging!**

* * *

"Oh, my God!" Caroline exclaimed, happily. "Finally!" She said, her joy filling the space of the car, altering the atmosphere. She felt somewhat childish for being this happy, but it didn't matter. Klaus had never been one to try and fix her, or poke fun at her for being herself. She clasped her hands together with a girly squee.

Klaus looked at her, a small smile creasing his face, as she fumbled with car's radio. They were finally far enough away from the country and the radio fuzz was gone. He looked at Ethan, through his mirror, and he appeared to be stifling a laugh at Caroline's over-the-top reaction. They hit a few bumps in the road, making the radio station fuzz come back, momentarily. Caroline's gleeful expression did not waver, making Klaus feel an odd sense of genuine joy. Suddenly, his joy was gone. It was murdered by the horrifying screeching that came out of the speakers of the car. Pain shot through his ears and aggravated every nerve in his body. He fought to keep himself together, but accidently let out a groan of discomfort and uneasiness at the Justin Bieber song Caroline was blasting.

She smirked at his reaction. "No worries," she switched to a different station. "It was just a joke." Her smile grew as she watched Klaus regain his previous expression, his eyes never leaving the road in front of him. "What do you listen to, anyway? I bet it's something classical."

"Classical is good," he agreed.

"Beatles?" She asked.

He smiled. "They made the 60's much less dreadful."

"What was wrong with the 60's?"

"Stories for another time, love." He tilted his head towards Ethan, silently explaining his response to Caroline. He saw her shrug, from the corner of his eye, before twisting her fingers back around the radio controls.

He couldn't quite keep the smile off his face. Not because anything was particularly funny, but because – finally – she was trying to get to know him. After a month on the run – and months before that – of metaphorically hitting his head against the very strong brick wall she had trapped herself behind, it would seem that he had finally broken through. Finally, as he once dared her, she was getting to know him. The joy he felt was a bit too much to suppress, forcing him to keep the small smile on his face.

Two Kelly Clarkson, three Taylor Swift songs later, Caroline finally settled on "Lights" by Ellie Goulding.

As the song progressed, so did Caroline's shameless car dancing. It was becoming increasingly difficult for Klaus to keep his eyes on the road as she moved to the rhythm of the song. It wasn't a song he was particularly fond of, and with anyone else he most likely would have put up a fuss, but her reaction to it made everything worth it. He watched a happy and worry-free Caroline emerge before his eyes. Her dark hair flew into her eyes and she was too swept up in the beat of the song to do anything about it. Stopping at a red light, he watched her.

Caroline turned to face him, still dancing. She didn't care if she looked like a fool. For the first time, in a long time, she felt free. She didn't know why and she didn't care. She didn't know how long this feeling would last and she would milk it for all it was worth. She smiled at him.

"What?" She asked, her curiosity finally getting the better of her.

He studied her for a long second. Her hair was out of her eyes now, revealing their natural bright blue color. Her lips formed a light-hearted smile, showing her perfectly white teeth. She had an interesting glow about her. It was difficult to explain in words, but it was beautiful. He was certain he had never seen her like this before. It was as if he was looking at her for the very first time.

"You don't like this song either?" She asked, slowing down her dance until she was perfectly still. She glanced at the road to make sure the light was still red. Looking back at him, she saw lust flash across his eyes. It was brief and very quickly replaced with something else. She couldn't quite make out what that something else was, but she did know that no one had ever looked at her like that, before. It made her feel warm.

It was then that he surprised her.

"You're beautiful," he said quietly.

What surprised her most was not what he said, but the fact that she _felt_ it. For the first time since her hair was colored and cut, she _felt_ beautiful. She still couldn't quite make out the emotions behind his eyes. Maybe it was admiration, maybe infatuation, maybe something entirely different. Whatever it was, it was genuine and she knew it. She felt it.

She smiled. "Thank you."

The light turned green, forcing Klaus to put his foot on the gas and break the eye contact between them. He reluctantly turned his eyes on the road and kept going. He made a right turn, for no reason other than the fact that he could. "There is a map behind my seat," he told her.

Without hesitation, she reached behind his seat to grab the map. She placed a hand on his shoulder, without thinking, to give herself balance as she twisted in her seat. She felt him stiffen in response and she removed it. Trapping the map between her index and middle fingers, she brought it to herself and opened it. She looked at him for instructions, not entirely sure what he wanted her to do with it.

"Where are we going?" He asked, with his eyes still on the road.

After a short back and forth conversation, it was decided that Ethan would pick their destination. He appeared excited at the thought, as Caroline handed him the map and told him to read out a place. He was silent for a long time. Caroline glanced behind her once or twice, pressuring him. He remained silent.

"What's going on, mate?" Klaus glanced at him through his mirror. He was staring at the map intently.

Silence.

It was then that something occurred to Caroline. She remembered him telling them that he had never gone to school. "He can't read," she informed Klaus a little too loudly. She hoped Ethan didn't think she was making fun of him. She wasn't. She looked at Klaus. He kept his eyes on the road and for a moment she thought that he didn't hear her. The only indication that he might have was a quiet sigh and the biting of his lip.

* * *

The day went from bright to dark as their hours on the road passed. Caroline leaned against the back of her seat and watched the streetlights pass them, as they drove down a dark road. It vaguely reminded her of the day they left Mystic Falls, the day her life completely changed. She turned her gaze to Klaus, who looked almost the same as he did the day they left. The only difference was the clothing. At least, that was the only difference she was able to describe. There was another difference, however, one that she could not quite put her finger on. He appeared less worried, more content. Dare she assume he was happy? If he was, she couldn't help but wonder what brought him to such a state. He was still on the run, and with Ethan being their newest addition, they were in more trouble now than they were before. Giving it more thought, she realized that she was more content also. Not quite as worried as she was when they first left. Somehow, everything appeared to be more promising. Still, she wasn't quite sure what gave her that feeling.

"Klaus," she said his name softly, not wanting to wake up a sleeping Ethan.

He said nothing, only responding with a quick glance. A few passing lights shined on his face.

"You know I can drive, right?" She realized that he always took the driver's seat, never giving her the opportunity to drive. She was tired and judging by his expression, he was tired, too. He held himself together better than she did, she noticed. Still, he had been up since five that morning and while she and Ethan had taken a few short naps, he kept driving.

"I do," he replied, knowing exactly where she was going with this question.

"Is there a reason you don't want me to drive?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

She waited a few seconds for him to elaborate, but he did not. _Control freak_, she thought to herself.

"Do you miss Mystic Falls?" She asked, changing the topic. It seemed that the further away from Mystic Falls they got, the less she missed it. It was a strange feeling and one she was uncomfortable with. She was supposed to miss her home. She didn't. She missed her mom and her friends, but she did not miss her home. She was, however, missing the abandoned church she lived in for the past month.

"No," he replied. He saw her worried expression out of the corner of his eye and softened his, in response. "Occasionally," he said in a softer tone. _Not really_.

"I don't," she told him. "I can't figure out why."

"If I may take a guess," he looked at her, asking permission. "Mystic Falls was never a town good enough for you"

She scoffed at him. "Oh, please."

"You should be in a place that challenges you, makes you question things, and encourages you to open your eyes to everything you have around you. You should be in a place that betters you, not one that suppresses your intelligence and worth."

She opened her mouth at his response. She desperately wanted to respond to him, but words were failing her. She stuttered her way into a response she instantly regretted. "You think this car is that place? So far, it's been my only constant."

"Actually…" he trailed off, not sure if he should continue. "I believe _I_ have been your only constant over this past month." He looked at her, hoping her reaction was not a scoff or the rolling of her eyes. It wasn't. She wasn't arguing his response. Rather, it appeared that she was thinking about it. "Just as you have been mine," he concluded.

* * *

They ended up in Canada. More specifically, Ontario, Klaus explained that this stay would be shorter than their stay at the abandoned church. Caroline wasn't quite certain why he chose this specific stop, but if she had to guess it would be because it was closer than travelling elsewhere.

"Elijah will be here tomorrow," Klaus explained as he opened the door to Elijah's house. The last time they spoke, Elijah explained that there was something urgent that needed to be discussed and he would rather they do so in person. Hence, the abrupt stop in Canada.

"So, this is Elijah's house?" Caroline looked around. It wasn't a mansion, just a simple house. It was wonderfully decorated with warm colors and expensive looking accent pieces. The only sign that no one lived here was the dust that had collected around various pieces of furniture and a dead plant in the corner of the living room.

"He has a few around the world," Klaus explained as he casually placed the few bags near the couch and sat down, making himself at home. Ethan stood awkwardly in the doorway and Klaus gestured for him to sit down. He did and the two of them watched as Caroline looked around, curiously. "He likes to travel, but hates hotel rooms."

"Oh, the perks of being loaded…" she said quietly, running a finger across the top of a dusty book shelf. "I guess he doesn't come to Canada often?" She raised her dusty finger.

"Often enough to find it necessary to purchase a house."

"Why wouldn't we come here first?" She asked, making her way to the kitchen. She turned on the lights. _Electricity works,_ she thought happily. She turned on the tap, happy to feel the warm water on her fingertips.

"My brother's house? More than likely, this would be one of the first places to look."

She said nothing in response, still analyzing the house. "Why are you two just sitting here?" She said suddenly, after a long moment of silence. They both looked at her with wide eyes. They were not related but their expression at the moment was identical – both wide-eyed and clueless. She pointed to the bags. "Start unpacking," she told them.

* * *

There were two bedrooms in the house, both across from each other. Klaus and Caroline each claimed one as their own. Caroline had not been in the room Klaus chose for himself, but her room was cozy and beautiful – much like the rest of the house. Her bed was soft, a pleasant change from the air mattress, and her covers fluffy and warm. The room had a large window, allowing the bright rays of sunlight to wake her up that morning.

Walking down the stairs the next morning, Caroline expected to see Klaus. He wasn't there, leaving her to assume that he was still in his room. Making herself a cup of coffee, she remembered the multiple times she had woken up that night and wished that Klaus was there to keep her warm, like he was the last night at the church. He was in the room across from her, testing her. Once, she even imagined that she walked across, to his room, and made herself comfortable against him. She was quickly forgetting all the reasons that this would be a bad idea and she fought to keep herself in her room, trapped under her covers.

The small library next to Caroline's room had a couch that pulled out into a bed. Klaus instructed that Ethan take that one, telling him that he could read any book he wanted. This struck Caroline as odd, given that Ethan couldn't read. They had stopped at a Zellers on their way here and Klaus took the liberty of buying a few beginner-level reading books while Caroline picked out some clothes for him. She silently wondered if Klaus was the one who was going to teach Ethan to read. Somehow, the role of teacher did not seem to fit him. Holding her warm cup, she made her way to the small stack of beginner books. Klaus had yet to touch them and Ethan probably had not even seen them. She flipped the pages. It seemed easy enough, but she had never taught anyone anything in her life. Still, she silently made the decision that if Klaus didn't get started on this today, she would try and teach Ethan herself.

"Hi."

Caroline closed the reading book and turned to put a face to the small voice behind her. Ethan stood before her in a warm set of flannel pajamas that she picked out for him. The bruise under his eye was changing color, indicating that it was healing. She silently wondered if it would be a wise idea to put a few drops of blood in his drink and speed up the healing process. Would he notice? Would he question it? Were they supposed to hide from him that they are vampires? _Of course we are_, she told herself. She wasn't certain that they could manage that for long.

"Hi, sweetie." She smiled warmly. "Sleep okay?" He nodded at her and she went back into the kitchen to get him a juice box. "Crap, you need to eat, right?" She said without thinking. Closing her eyes and taking a small second to regret the outburst, she corrected herself. "Are you hungry?"

He said nothing.

Opening the fridge, she took out a carton of eggs that was purchased yesterday. Cooking wasn't her best skill, but it was worth a shot. Scrambled eggs weren't much of a challenge, right? Catching a glimpse of something interesting she put the carton down. Getting a closer look, she realized there was a radio built into the wall; she turned it up, allowing the beat of Rob Thomas' "Lonely No More" to surround the area of the kitchen. _There, that's better._

Klaus walked down the stairs and followed the sound of music into the kitchen. He smiled at the sight of Caroline dancing and Ethan tapping his foot against the floor lightly, as he sat at the kitchen table. This was something he had seen happen in a movie once or twice, but he never thought it happened in real life. At least, he never thought it be something that would happen in _his_ life. It gave him an odd feeling of warmth mixed with amusement.

"Good morning," he said warmly.

Caroline turned to face him, with a smile.

Ethan said a quiet "hi" and got off his chair.

Klaus' eyes followed Ethan's as he made his way out of the kitchen and to the small stack of books on the living room table. He turned back to Caroline, who was done with the scrambled eggs, but still dancing to the music. He was not too fond of physical contact, for reasons other than the obvious bedroom acts between a man and a woman - anything else sometimes made him nervous or tense. Still, he felt the brarely resistable urge to wrap his arms around her and hold her to him. Maybe even kiss her. She kissed him back once, she would do it again, he guessed. He bitterly remembered her response following the kiss, her telling him that he shouldn't have kissed her.

Not wanting to dwell on it, he decided to put his bitterness over the past events to better use. Taking hold of her hand, he spun her around enough times so that she was dizzy by the time he stopped. He effortlessly brought her against his chest, allowing her to lean on him for balance. He gave her a charming smile as she looked back at him, starry-eyed. Her look vanished quickly, as she gathered her thoughts. He could see the rapid change and prepared himself to counter any remark that she was about to make.

"A thousand years and that's the best you've got?" She asked with an unaffected smile. "It's only a few spins."

"Maybe," he smiled. "Still, it's very effective." He leaned down so that his lips were at her ear. "You're very unbalanced, leaning against me for support," he whispered. She remained where she was and he wondered if she felt the same spark he did, igniting every bone in his body, as she breathed against him, her chest rising and lowering against him. His lips touched the skin slightly below her ear. "And if I were to kiss you right now, I am entirely certain that you would kiss me back," he breathed into her skin, confidently.

A shiver went through her. She closed her eyes as he held her closely and moved his lips down her neck, not kissing but touching. She could feel his hot breath on her and she wanted nothing more than to claim his mouth as hers, just as she had that day in the elevator. What was it about him that made her forget her surroundings? Why did he affect her the way that he did? Although he had not even kissed her, a small moan left her.

With his lips on her neck, he could feel her moan, the sound of it causing a barely noticeable vibration between her skin and his lips. "You feel this too…this tension between us," he whispered, now confident that she did feel that same spark. With his hands still keeping her to him, he touched her collarbone with his lips, still careful not to kiss her. She raised her chin, giving him easier access. She was as affected by him as he was by her. He knew that now. "And you need to…" he trailed off, wondering if he should take his chances and move his mouth to her chest. Deciding against it, he slowly moved back up her neck until he was back at her ear. "…stop pretending like this is a one-sided attraction."

Her brain screamed at her to pull away, but her body just would not listen. She stayed where she was, her chest still rising and falling against his, with every breath she took. "If you're so confident that I would kiss you back, then why don't you just kiss me?" She wasn't sure exactly why she said this. Her brain was now telling her to pull away, if he did, but she silently made peace knowing that she would not. She could feel his mouth move from her ear to the side of her face. It was painfully slow, making her realize how incredibly impatient she could be.

"Because…" he whispered as he made his way to the corner of her mouth, until their lips were lightly touching. He was careful not to give into her and kiss her, despite his body's ache for her. "…the last time I did…" he couldn't help himself, he closed his eyes, his lips still lingering so painfully close to hers. "You told me not to do it again."

And with that, he abruptly pulled away.

She unwillingly took a step towards him as he backed away, craving to feel the warmth of his body again. She placed a hand over her stomach, butterflies making her nervous. She watched him walk away, without a second look. _What the hell?_

He grabbed his jacket off a hook near the door. "I'm off to see Elijah," he announced.

She cleared her throat and mentally scolded herself to allowing herself to keep her head in the clouds for so long, allowing him to toy with her. "Why doesn't he come here?"

He stopped abruptly at her question and cleared his throat uncomfortably.

She watched his odd response, puzzled. She waited for a response.

"We will be at the Second Cup, across the street," he told her, well aware of the fact that he did not answer her question.

She watched him leave, without a word. Her gut reaction was right, she was sure of it.

He was keeping something from her.

* * *

**So, what did you guys think? Please leave reviews - they make me happy :) **

**Just FYI - the next chapter will be a bit more intense than this one. This is kind of the calm before the storm.**

**Anyways, yeah, until the next chapter! Thanks for reading!**

**i-enjoy-you (tumblr).**


	10. A Heart on Fire

**Okay, you guys, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your reviews. A good number of you follow, but never leave reviews, so I just want to really thank anyone that takes the time to actually leave a few kind words. You guys are my motivation!**

**Here is the next chapter (kind of long, compared to my other chapters). Some more words for you guys, at the end.**

* * *

Caroline stared at the blank page, in front of her. Well, almost blank. It had one word on it: Mom. She was writing a letter to her mom. The problem was: she had no clue where to begin. What the hell would she say?

_I miss you. _

It really was the only thing she truly wanted to write on that page.

She glanced at Ethan, who sat next to her, practicing his writing. She didn't know exactly how old he was. For some reason she never asked, but she did know that the practices he was doing were made for five year olds and he was definitely older. She briefly imagined how horrible his life must have been, before Klaus came into the picture. Even now, the poor kid had no idea of the trap he just walked into. A life on the run with vampires couldn't possibly end well for him, could it? She was scared for him.

A part of her wanted to save him from a life with them – save him from the inevitable pain of getting close to Klaus. She wanted to save the boy from Klaus, just as she wanted to save herself from him. She was slowly giving up that battle, however. As much as she tried to convince herself that there would be pain involved in being with him – in giving herself to him – she couldn't quite help but think of a "what if". What if there wasn't pain? What if she could erase his past? What if she could erase all his terrible acts? Would it be okay to be with him, if he wasn't Jenna's killer? _No_, she told herself. _Maybe_, she corrected. Regardless, this thing with Klaus was somewhat like falling down an icy hill – you can't go back up, once you've started to fall. And she has started to fall. All that was left was waiting to, inevitably, hit the ground. Perhaps, this is where she and Ethan connected. He was waiting to hit the ground, too, because the second he took off with them, he started to fall down that icy hill.

She looked back down at her letter.

_Mom,_

_I miss you. I love you. I'm okay._

_- C_

There was so much more to write, but she couldn't do it. How was she supposed to explain all of this to her mother, if she could barely wrap her own head around it? She ripped the page from her notebook and folded it in half, placing it on the dining room table.

Klaus had been gone for over two hours, making her a little worried. Would he assume she was spying on him, or something, if she walked over to Second Cup and checked to make sure he was okay? She didn't even have to walk in – just look and see if he was in there. _God, I sound like a stalker_, she thought to herself.

_Oh, screw it. _

"Ethan, grab your jacket. We're going for a walk."

* * *

"So, how old are you?" Caroline asked, casually, as they walked across the street.

"Eight," he replied quietly. "What's going on?" He pointed forward, with his index finger.

Looking from his perplexed expression, she looked to where he was pointing. It was only when she looked up that she realized she smelled flames. Smoke surrounded the coffee shop where Klaus said he would be. She wasn't scared. She went numb. It was only after she saw Ethan run towards the coffee shop, that she was jolted out of her trance. She hooked him by the elbow and hissed for him to stay in one spot. And with her angry yell at his reckless action, she left him in that spot and left to commit her own reckless act.

She ran past a young woman dialing 911 and she knew they needed to be out of the area, before they arrived.

She wasn't entirely certain what happened, because everything felt as though it happened in a second, at most. She could vaguely hear his voice, as she navigated her way through the flames, indicating that he was alive amongst the flames. A few seconds later, she outside. She opened her eyes slowly, scared to see what was around her. She and Klaus were lying on the grass, a few feet away from the burning coffee shop, and she was over top of him. He had a hand over her back, holding her to him and both her hands were on the ground, at either side of his face, as she slowly lifted her bodyweight off him.

"Are you okay?" She whispered, looking at his dirty face. There was a burn wound across his face, healing slowly.

He opened his mouth to speak, but a thousand different emotions shot through him at once, causing words to completely escape him. He couldn't understand why she would go in after him, without regard for the danger she was putting herself in. He was angry with her for it. She shouldn't have done that.

His sense of smell was back, causing his anger to rise. _Now,_ his smell was back. Where the fuck was it five minutes ago, before the flames swallowed him whole?

"Are you?" He asked, in response. He could smell blood. _Her blood_. He raised himself up, so that he was sitting, taking her up with him. Following the smell, he saw a large burn wound covering her leg, blood dripping off her. "Your leg," he whispered, more to himself than to her.

She looked around. There were a few people around them, but most were preoccupied with the burning building to notice them. Suddenly, with the sound of police sirens, she felt her feet lift off the floor. A gasp escaped her, from the quickness of the action. She could feel Klaus' arm come around her back and one under her legs, holding her. She would tell him that he didn't have to, but the pain in her leg was kicking in and she wasn't entirely certain that she could walk. It occurred to her now that it was probably because of her leg that she fell to the ground in the first place. Placing her hands around his neck, she buried herself in the crook of his neck.

He could feel her hot breath on his neck, as she cradled herself against him. If he wasn't mistaken, he could feel her place a light kiss to his neck. It triggered a warm sensation that made its way through his body and made him wish that he could keep her this close to him for all eternity. He mentally chased the beautiful sensation away, wanting to feel nothing but his anger.

"Let's go," he commanded Ethan, who remained in the exact spot Caroline told him to stay in.

"Is she okay?" Ethan asked, with his voice shaky and quiet.

"She will be," he replied, with a barely suppressed rage.

In a few minutes, they were back in Elijah's house. Caroline's wound was almost healed. "I'm fine," she told him. "You can put me down." He said nothing, but she could feel his erratic breathing, indicating he was angry. She didn't understand. "I didn't see Elijah in there…" she said, cautiously. She may have seen him, but not remembered. Everything that happened in those few minutes really was a blur.

"He wasn't there," he told her as he placed her down on the couch and kneeled down on the floor, to get a better look at her leg. "He left. I was getting some coffee when all this happened." He looked at her leg, her wound now healed. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, seeing that the wound on his face was healed as well. Her lips parted at the sudden change in his eyes, most likely triggered by her nod. His eyes were filled with rage and anger and she felt herself backing away from him, as far back on the couch as she could. He looked angrier now than he did before. _What the hell?_

"Ethan, go to your room," Klaus commanded in an angry tone.

Ethan stood in one place, looking at Caroline.

Her expression softened towards Ethan. "Stay, its okay," she told him.

"Go. To. Your. Room." Klaus commanded, this time even angrier. His expression and tone left no room for discussion and questions. His anger was palpable.

Ethan fearfully backed away, as though Klaus' tone and the look in his eyes reminded him of a painful memory. He looked at Caroline, as though he was a puppy in rain looking for shelter.

"Go," Caroline told him in the softest tone she could manage. "I'll be up in a minute, okay? I want to talk to you."

With his expression never altering, Klaus watched Ethan leave. He kept silent, until he heard the door to his room close.

"What the hell is your problem!?" He pushed himself off the floor, with a yell.

"What the hell is yours!?" She yelled back, getting off the couch. "You can't talk to him like that!"

"I will talk as I see fit," he barked. "I took him, he's mine."

"He's not property!" She ran a hand through her hair, in exasperation.

With a scoff, he changed the topic to the one he really wanted to address. "What the hell were you thinking, going in there? The damn place was on fire – FIRE, Caroline –"

This was what triggered his anger? She scoffed in disbelief. "I was thinking that you were in there!"

"I can't be killed!" He yelled at her, taking a step back, surprised by the strength of his own shout. "The same can't be said for you!" He wanted to say that last sentence in a quieter tone, but he couldn't quite manage it.

"You were in there." She replied in a softer tone, hoping he would soften his as well. "Most people would just say thank you."

A bitter laugh left him. "Thank you?" His eyes widened in horror. "Well then, thank you, Caroline. Thank you, for almost getting yourself killed!"

There were tears in her eyes now – tears of fear from his unexpected outburst and tears of pain for the lack of appreciation. She closed her eyes, forcing them away. "That's all you took from that?" She asked, in a whisper. If she said it any louder, she would give away her shaky tone. "Who else was lining up to help you?" She raised her brows, when he replied with nothing but silence. "I _helped_ you…and you're yelling at me."

"Why did you do it?" He instantly regretted the question. Any possible answer that could come out of her mouth made him uncomfortable. If she helped him because she cared, that scared him the most. All this time he was convinced that he was protecting her, but now it was dawning on him that any possible feelings she could exhibit towards him could land her in a heap of trouble.

"I don't know…I didn't think about it." She was being honest, she had no idea why she reacted in the way that she did. Looking back now, she knew he couldn't be killed. What was she so afraid of?

"You didn't think, that's great, Caroline." He sighed in frustration and looked away from her, for a few seconds, to collect himself. "You did something reckless, something that got you absolutely nowhere, because you did not think!"

She felt like a toddler being yelled at by a parent. She swallowed the gulp of tears in her throat and resented him for making her feel bad for this. "You know what, Klaus?" She took a few steps back. "_Screw you_," she spat out bitterly.

His eyes widened, surprised that she was talking to him in such a manner. He said nothing, watching her storm out of the room, angrily. Not knowing what else to do, he took a nearby book and smashed it against the wall next to him.

* * *

Caroline wiped a few tears that ran down her face and straightened her posture, giving herself a more confident appearance. She opened the door to Ethan's room. "Hey…"

He looked up from a book she knew he wasn't reading.

"How are you doing?" She walked in.

He shrugged, not saying anything.

"Can I sit?"

He nodded.

She sat down, taking a glimpse of his book. _Great Expectations_, by Charles Dickens. She didn't quite know what to say to him. He just saw the two people he relied on for safety trapped in a burning fire. He obediently stayed in one spot, not moving an inch, despite his want to chase after them.

"Klaus isn't angry with you, okay?" She decided to start with that, first. "He just got a little scared, because…because it was all very scary and it happened really quickly." God, she sucked at this. "You were scared too, right?"

He nodded.

"Because you thought something would happen to us?" Was this the right way to talk to a kid his age? Was she doing this right? Would talking make him feel better?

He nodded, again, his eyes drifting back to the words on the book.

"Look, you don't have to worry about us going anywhere, okay?" Was there any way that she could tell him they were vampires, without actually telling him? "We're not like most people, okay?" _Caroline, shut up! If you don't know what to say, don't say anything, _she scolded herself_._ "Klaus isn't leaving you," she said, confidently. She moved some of her hair behind her ear, nervously.

The two of them sat on the bed, silently, for a few minutes.

"How come you don't know his name?" Ethan broke the silence.

She scrunched her brows. "What do you mean?"

"His name is not Klaus. You always call him Klaus."

"That's his name."

"No, it's not," he replied with confidence.

She arched a brow. "Okay, what is it?"

"His name is Nik."

She smiled softly and got off the bed. "I think he reserves that name for people that are really important to him," she told him. She walked out of his room, still carrying her soft smile.

* * *

Most of the day was spent in an awkward silence amongst the three of them. Ethan came out of his room twice, to eat, and then quickly hurried upstairs, without giving Klaus as much as a glance. It occurred to Caroline that she had no idea what a boy his age would do for fun. He had no toys, just his books upstairs. He was sleeping now, given that it was 11:47 PM, but she decided to ask him in the morning. Now, she sat flipping through some magazines as Klaus sat across from her looking the screen of his laptop. She occasionally heard the light clicking of the keyboard as he typed and the sound of web pages opening and closing. She wondered what he was doing, but didn't dare speak to him first.

Without so much as a glance in Caroline's direction, he closed his laptop.

She glanced up from her magazine, but said nothing. Neither did he, so she looked back down at the page in front of her.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you," he said quietly.

"I know," she replied in a bitchy tone, followed by a scoff.

He paused at her response. "I'm trying to do something that makes me really uncomfortable," he snapped. "Are you really going to use that tone and make me even _more_ uncomfortable?"

She looked up from her page, again, her expression now softer.

"I apologize for shouting at you."

She watched him fidget with his wedding band and decided to put him out of his misery. He was all she had, right now, and continuing to fight over this would be of no use. "Okay," she said with a nod, quietly.

"Okay," he concluded the conversation and opened his laptop.

She battled with herself for a minute, before throwing the magazine on the coffee table, in front of her. "Actually, no, not okay."

He closed his laptop and looked at her.

"Why was it such a big deal? You really should have just been happy that I actually went in there and tried to help you. You might not have gotten out, if it wasn't for me."

He felt as though he was explaining this for the millionth time. "I can't be killed."

"You already said that," she snapped.

"I don't understand why you need a different explanation. You could have died and I would have been responsible for that. I was not in danger of dying, but _you_ were."

She thought over his words, for a long few seconds. "So, basically, what you're saying is that you got scared that I would die? You're not angry because I helped you, you're angry that I could have died for you."

He didn't know what to say. Answering that question, honestly, made his uncomfortable. If he were to tell her – really tell her – that she mattered more to him than he let on, would she use it against him? Would she see him as weaker, somehow? Would it be easier for her to leave him, knowing that she would be causing him pain? He looked at her, trying desperately not to reveal anything. Pressing his lips between his teeth, he successfully stopped any response he could offer her from escaping him.

"Good night, Caroline," was all he said, before walking upstairs, ridding himself of his clothes, and crawling into bed, in an attempt to let his dark dreams take him away from his agonizing reality.

She stayed downstairs, confused by his lack of response.

* * *

Walking out of the shower, she stopped at the doorway to his room. It was closed, but not completely, allowing her to peak inside. He appeared to be sleeping, his covers barely covering him, like always.

She thought back to his lack of response, before walking upstairs. Could she have been right? Was he scared of losing her? This begged another question: was he scared simply because he was scared of being alone, or was he scared because she mattered to him? She hoped it was because she mattered.

The door creaked lightly, as she moved it open. For a reason quite beyond her, she found herself sitting on his bed, watching him for a moment. He looked so handsome. This was her life now. He was her life now. So, would it be so bad, if she kissed him? Not a single person besides the two of them would ever have to find out. For all she knew, she might never see anyone in Mystic Falls again. It was just them. She lightly ran a hand across his, feeling the warmth of his body. One of his curls fell to his face and she moved it lightly. How a monster like him could be so beautiful was unbelievable to her. Except, was he a monster? _Yes_, she wanted to scream. Still, she couldn't help but think about all those times that he wasn't a monster. All those times that he was kind and considerate towards her. All those times that he made her feel safe and wanted. He wasn't all bad, she rationalized.

Lowering herself, she placed a light kiss to his lips. Feeling his lips move under hers, she raised herself up to look at him.

He blinked at her, confused by the gesture, but didn't move. The look in her eyes was an interesting mix of vulnerability and lust. For the life of him, he couldn't understand what he had done to create such emotion in her. They spent most of the day fighting. He could feel drops of water from her hair fall on him, as she moved herself over him and straddled him, without explanation. He sat up, so they were at the same level. Her hands came to the back of his neck, triggering the memory of her kiss to invade his mind. He looked down, from her eyes, to her body. She was still wet, from her shower, causing the nightgown she was wearing to cling to her. He wanted to slip his hands under her gown, before she came to her senses and pulled away, but it all seemed like a dream and he couldn't quite get himself to move.

As he looked back at her, the expression of lust dancing in his eyes made her feel more wanted than she had ever felt before. She cupped his face, lightly, and brought him in into a kiss. His lips were still against hers, for only a moment, before he softly swept his tongue across her lips. His hands came around her back, holding her to him, their tongues dancing together. His mouth moved from her lips to her cheek, and then to the curve in her neck. He could hear the blood flowing through her veins.

There was something unique in the way he kissed her. There was so much hunger, it was like he was inhaling ever inch of her, memorizing the feeling of her skin, or the curve of her neck, or trying to capture the sound of her moan in his mind, to keep for all time. Her fingers intertwined in his hair, enjoying being so close to him, feeling his body against hers. His mouth trailed from her neck, to her collarbone, and stopped slightly above the curve of her chest. He looked up at her, as though asking for permission. She nodded, lightly.

His lips parted and his breathing deepened. If this was a dream, he'd rip out the heart of anyone who woke him up. He looked down, from her eyes, to her chest. It rose up and down, steadily, with every breath she took. He slipped a hand under her nightgown and between her breasts, feeling her silky skin on his hand. Her nipples hardened at his touch and she curved her back, in response. Trailing his hand from her chest, down the bottom of her gown, he looked back at her. She raised her arms up, responding to his silent request.

"You want to be mine?" He asked, quietly, revealing her bare chest.

She almost trembled at the seductive tone of his voice. The question threw her off guard. It triggered an odd fear that she had never felt before. She couldn't quite place a finger on the emotion, but it was terrifying. "I'll never be yours," she whispered, placing a kiss on his lips.

It was then that everything changed.

It was in that moment that he made a decision: he may not be able to claim her emotionally, but he could claim her physically. No matter where the road took them, together or apart, he could forever change her with this one act. He would be the best man in her bed, ensuring that he would forever be imprinted on every inch of her skin. Never forgotten. Always lingering on her flesh.

"I want the lights on," he told her.

Without a second thought, she leaned over and turned on the lamp, which rested on a shelf near his bed. It was dim, giving the room a golden glow.

He pushed her down, so that her head was at the foot of the bed and he was on top. Her legs were tied behind his back and he raised himself back up. He took a firm grip on her knees and in one swift motion, moved her legs further apart, giving himself more space. Lowering himself back over her, he kissed her chest and swept his tongue over her nipples, causing her to arch her back up, in arousal. And just like that, he was in complete control. He moved from her chest, up to her neck, and then hovered over her pink lips.

Her hands went to the back of his neck, bringing him closer to her mouth. She lifted her head off the mattress of the bed, wanting to meet his lips. As she moved up, to connect their lips, he pulled back, with a teasing smirk. She opened her eyes, looking up at him. He looked back into her eyes, lowering himself to kiss her. She lifted her chin, and just like last time, he pulled back with another seductive smile. It was then that she realized what she had gotten herself into. He was going to make her beg, she concluded.

_No._

Taking a firm hold on his shoulders, she flipped herself over him and pushed him into the mattress. With her hands still on his shoulders, she lowered herself and claimed his mouth, not allowing him to deny her any longer. He kissed her back, his desire growing. She could feel him between her legs, as she straddled him. With a small smile, she slipped her hand into his briefs and took hold of him, stroking him. His lips parted and a breath left him, indicating that she had him exactly where she wanted him. She swept her hand over the head of his cock, forcing him to inhale a sharp breath at the sensation.

"You're making this go faster than it needs to," he growled in a low, aroused, voice.

She ignored his remark and repeated the motion once more, before removing his briefs completely. Just as he was ready to regain his control, he felt her mouth on his cock, forcing his plans for control to be placed on hold, momentarily. Her tongue moved from the base of his cock until she reached the head and swept her tongue around it and then finally took him, completely, into her mouth. Her hand stayed at the base, controlling how much of him she took in, while she licked and sucked.

He groaned in pleasure, as one final swift of her tongue brought him back to reality and, with this action, he remembered his original plan of making her body his – not the other way around. Tugging on her shoulders, he brought her up. She lowered herself over his body, wanting to connect their lips, but he had other plans. He regained control and moved himself over her, denying her the kiss – only for a moment. An amused smile crossed his face, noticing the need for his kiss spattered on her face.

Finally, placing his lips on hers, he kissed softly, preparing her for what would follow. He felt her arms came around his neck, begging him to deepen the kiss. Removing her hands from his neck, he placed them on either side of her, pushing them into the mattress. His lips found hers again and he invaded her mouth, mercilessly, until she was squirming to free her hands and pushed her pelvis against him, begging him to take her. Like before, he spread her legs farther apart, about the width of his shoulders. Moving a finger inside her, she arched herself up and he removed it, slowly, teasing her. His thumb traced around her clit, causing her to become wet from just the mere anticipation.

"Please," she found herself begging. This is what he wanted and she knew it. She was playing right into his plan, but she didn't care. It was only after her beg that he touched her, causing the sensation to weaken every muscle in her body and travel down to her very core. She moved her hips, as her muscles began to contract, and she could practically hear his smile as she did this. Just as she was about to explode, he stopped. "God, Klaus…" she wined, needing. Again, she could hear his devilish smile. She stubbornly slid her hand between her legs, doing what he wouldn't, desperately needing the release.

He watched for a moment, amused, his own arousal growing at the sight. Deciding she was getting dangerously close to finishing what he started, on her own, he removed her hand and placed his body over hers, so that she couldn't move her hand back, once he released it.

"You want this," she tried to reason with him. "I can _feel_ you," she breathed in a shaky whisper.

He moved his erection against her, feeling her arch her pelvis up and rub her sex against his. "I know," he told her, seductively. The sensation of her moving under him traveled from his cock to every inch of his body.

She had never done this before: deny release. Before this, she always thought the point of sex was just that – the release. It was a means to an end. As it turns out, she was wrong. It could be so much more. This was different and frustrating, but my god, it was good. She trapped the sheets on the bed in her fists, moaning from want.

"But, I'm having too much fun to end this now, love," he trailed kisses along her jaw line.

"I'm going to do this to you, one day," she threatened.

He smirked into her neck. Raising himself to look at her, he moved a stray hair out of her eyes. "One day, I may let you."

And with that, she realized her threat wasn't much of a threat, at all. More than anything, it was a delicious promise. A promise he had no intention of avoiding. And so, she remained helpless under him, submissive to his every move. Just then, he finally took mercy on her. She felt him slowly move himself inside her. It was so painfully slow. Stubbornly, placing both hands on either side of his butt, she quickly moved him towards her, forcing him to go deeper inside her.

He laughed at the unexpected response. He could feel her tightening around him as he slowly started moving inside her. He knew it wouldn't be long before she came around him and he knew he was loosing the will to hold back, having dragged it out for this long. One of her hands came back around his neck and he felt her kiss his shoulder.

While the denial of release may have been something new for Caroline, this – this intimacy – was something new for him. He couldn't remember the last time he was kissed with such genuine tenderness and affection. Her hands softly held him to her and her lips traveled from his shoulder to his neck. He closed his eyes at the new sensation, triggered by the warmth of her kiss. He felt as though his heart was on fire.

"Don't stop," she breathed into his neck.

He quickened his thrusts, in response. As he went in deeper, she tilted her head back and onto the mattress. A loud moan left her lips, and he silenced the next one with a kiss. It was the next thrust that was the end for her. He felt her hot breath on him, as she moaned into the curve of his neck and found her release. He didn't stop, causing her to orgasm a second time, within seconds of the first, just as he found his own wave of ecstasy. His vision blurred and he collapsed from the pleasure, relying on his elbows to hold him up and keep from crushing her, as she recovered under him. Her muscles contracted around his cock, causing the sensation of his orgasm to linger. He stayed inside her for a long few minutes, enjoying just being inside her, before slipping to the side of her.

"That was…" she started, but didn't finish her sentence. She ran a hand through her hair, relaxing into the mattress under her.

And with that reaction, he knew his plan had worked. While she refused to give herself to him emotionally, her body would be forever his. He smiled at the realization.

Caroline moved over on her stomach, still breathless, and rested her head in the palm of her hand.

"So, if I may ask, why is this something you wanted, now?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"I just realized something."

"And what would that be?"

"It's just you and me."

He looked at her, perplexed.

"Nobody in Mystic Falls will ever know," she explained. "So, there won't be judgments. I won't have to explain this to anyone, because no one will ever know."

He swallowed his hurt. So, it didn't matter if they were together with the lights on; he would still be something that she kept in the dark. "You need to stop worrying about what people think," he told her. It sounded like a command, although he didn't mean it as such. "These people you call your friends, they would never allow you to decide their fate. You, however, are letting them decide yours."

"Elena loves Damon," she blurted out.

He lifted his head off the mattress, giving her another puzzled expression.

"I judged her," she explained. "I couldn't understand how she could even see something in a guy like Damon." Without thinking, her hand gravitated to the scar on her neck. She removed it, before Klaus had the chance to notice and put two and two together. "Now, I'm like the biggest hypocrite ever." Her eyes grew horrified and she scrambled for a way to correct herself. "Not that I love you, or anything. I just – I –"

"Regret this," he finished her sentence.

"No," she said. "It's just that nobody would understand."

"There isn't much to understand, love. You're making it quite clear that this was just sex."

Maybe she was reading too much into it, but he seemed offended. Of course, she would talk herself into a mess – like always. It was more than sex, if she was being honest with herself. Still, she didn't correct him. If she could barely face it herself, there was no way she would leave herself emotionally bare and tell him.

"I liked being with you. I don't regret it," she told him, in a vain attempt to sooth any hurt emotions she may have evoked. He looked at her and she continued. "But, I don't want to explain it to anyone. So, when we go back to Mystic Falls, this never happened."

_We won't be going back to Mystic Falls anytime soon_, he thought to himself. He sighed heavily, looking away from her. Her words made him feel guilty for not making her aware of their current troubles. He kept silent, guiltily twirling the wedding band on his finger.

"You're upset," she took note at how he played with his wedding band.

"No," he replied calmly.

"Then, what's wrong?" She realized his gesture wasn't about what she had just said. "Is this about what you're keeping from me?"

He arched a brow and looked at her, surprised. How did she know? "I'm not keeping anything from you," he told her.

She was torn between anger and disbelief at his lie. "A thousand years and counting – I'd think you'd be a better liar."

"I'm not keeping it from you," he snapped. "I just – there was never a good time to tell you, today. You weren't exactly eager to talk to me."

"Because you were being a D-bag –"

"Regardless," he changed the direction, in a stern tone.

Her face creased with worry. "What is it? Is it the cops?"

"Actually," he took a deep breath and sat up on the bed. "Those incompetent cops are the least of our worries."

* * *

**Okay, so I'm not sure how you guys feel about them having sex so soon, but I'm taking a different approach here (than I did in Only in a Dream). The way I charactarized Charoline is a little different. With that said, I hope I made it clear that while she gave her body to him, he has yet to earn her heart. I know overall, having sex this early, is a little OOC for Caroline. Just remember that it is fanfiction and not something that would actually happen on the show (at least I don't think).**

**There will be more smut in future chapters, so if this made you squeamish, you may want to let me know in the reviews and I will mark the smutty sections for you so that you can avoid them in the chapters. **

**One more thing, in case anyone missed it/didn't give it importance: they got their sense of smell back. Anyone care to guess what Klaus did right?**

**Oh and also, someone in the reviews asked if I will include Elijah in this fic. YES - eventually. Wait for it!**

**Okay, so that's it for now. Until the next chapter, guys!**


	11. My Soul in 3 Colors

**First off, thank you so much for all the responses to the last chapter! Some of you were a little surprised (I hope in a good way) by the sex, while others considered it to be in character/believable. Thank you so much for voicing your thoughts! I'm glad you're liking the story. Please, keep the reviews coming - they are great motivation!**

**Second, a special thank you to aussyangel, who was nice enough to agree to be my beta and sort through my mess :)**

**P.S. I didn't mean for the chapter to be this long - I just couldn't find a good place to cut it off! I don't know how you guys feel about that, but I hope no one minds too much.**

* * *

Caroline shifted herself on the bed and sat up, preparing for the bad news. She dragged the bed sheet with her, keeping it around herself. She waited, but he said nothing. "Are you waiting for me to guess it?" She asked, irritated at the suspense.

He sat up with her. He wasn't quite certain why it was so difficult to tell her. Maybe, he just didn't want her to worry. He scratched his head nervously before telling her, "The cops are no longer looking for us. Elijah took care of it." He left the bed to get his phone, which rested in the back pocket of his jeans.

She watched as he pressed a few keys and handed her the phone. She read the first few lines. "This doesn't make sense," she said. "…_came forward and found to be falsely accused_ – we were not falsely accused."

"As I said, Elijah took care of it. Thanks to the power of the press, word is spreading quickly that we have come forward, found not guilty of the killing, and have been let go. The necessary people have been compelled to go along with this and we are no longer on the run from –"

"That's great!" She interrupted happily. "I could just kiss Elijah for this!"

The thought made him twitch and he forced the unpleasant images from his head, reminding himself that she was only speaking those words as a result of brief happiness. He bit his lower lip, shooing away his possessiveness. "Stay with me, Caroline," he said firmly, erasing the smile off her face. "We've been exposed as vampires to the entire council." He reached to take his phone back and sat back down, putting the phone on the shelf near the bed.

"By who?" She asked.

He paused for a moment, not liking what his response was going to be. "I don't know," he replied angrily. He hated uncertainty. He hated the lack of control that he had in this particular situation. There was more to it. "There also happens to be a new vampire-hunter in MysticFalls searching for us." He didn't know if the two occurrences were related. Perhaps, the council required assistance, and as a result called in a vampire-hunter. Perhaps, it was an unfortunate coincidence.

"So…no Mystic Falls, for me," she voiced her realization, sadly.

"No." He wasn't as torn up about it as she was. Her words echoed in his head, telling him that whatever was going on between them would be over the second she stepped on the grounds of that small, crummy town.

She popped her head up, suddenly. "What are you so scared of – you can't be killed. You spent most of yesterday shouting that at me."

Her tone was angry and he wondered if it was at the memory of their fight, or because she needed to lash out at someone. "I'm far from scared," he replied defensively. "But I am aware that under our current circumstances, there is very little that I can do to defend myself."

"Who is this vampire-hunter guy?" She ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm herself, if only for a moment.

Another answer he didn't like. "I don't know."

"What _do_ you know?" She asked, annoyed.

He paused at her tone and clenched his teeth in aggravation. For a moment, he thought about replying in an equally bitter tone. He reconsidered, opting for an explanation of some sort, instead. He pressed his thumb and index finger at the bridge of his nose, trying to keep control over his coming reply. "I haven't voiced this to you," he began. "But this lack of power that I have right now is excruciatingly difficult for me. I'm uncertain of the loyalty of my Hybrids, leaving Elijah as my main source of information."

She regretted her tone, but said nothing in response to his explanation.

"I'm meeting with him, tomorrow. This will be discussed in greater detail. You may join us, if you wish."

She nodded. "Okay." She watched him slip under the covers and lean back on the bed. "What are you doing?"

"It's two in the morning," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm going to sleep."

She widened her eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, very much so." He waited for her to either make herself comfortable in his bed, or return to her own. She did neither, staying in the same sitting position. Staying on his side, he turned his head towards her. "There is nothing you can do about this tonight," he told her.

"You can't just drop something like his on me and then expect me to sleep."

He stumbled over his own thoughts for a moment and then quietly mumbled, "I don't know what to tell you."

"Fine," she said. A light annoyance coated her words, not because of him, but because of the situation. She fluffed her pillow with a few hits, flipped it over on the opposite side, and flopped on the bed. An aggravated sigh left her and she closed her eyes, knowing for certain that she wouldn't be sleeping.

He turned his head again, to look at her. She rested on her side facing the opposite side of the room. Neither of them said a word. He turned the lamp off, allowing them to rest in the dark.

* * *

Hearing a quiet sigh, Klaus opened his eyes. The darkness behind his eyelids subsided, slowly replaced with a golden brown. He inhaled the warm vanilla scent that surrounded him. The blurriness slowly faded, allowing him to turn his head and face the quiet noise that woke him. Caroline wasn't by his side, forcing him to silently search for her. For a moment, he thought she may have gone back to her own bed.

He found her; she sat gracefully amongst a few, newly lit, candles. That explained the vanilla scent. She was sitting in front of an easel that rested in the corner of the room, painting on a small canvas.

Her air-dried, wavy, dark hair fell down her back and stopped a little below her shoulders. Her back was bare, the skin lightly glowing from the candle light. One of the crisp, creamy-white, bed sheets was hugging her naked body, covering her front and only a small portion of her behind, as she sat on a small stool, in front of the art canvas.

A sleepy moan, mixed with a sudden arousal, left him and his head slowly left the pillow.

She turned to face him at the quiet noise. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to wake you." She had purposely lit a few candles, hoping they wouldn't be as bright as turning on the lamp or the main light. She couldn't sleep, after what he had told her a few hours ago. She knew that when Klaus couldn't sleep, he sketched or painted. She wasn't as good as him, but thought maybe it would help her. After all, the easel was just there, in the corner of the room, calling her. If she was being perfectly honest, she hoped that maybe through doing what he loves she might better understand him. That wasn't working either.

He sat up on the bed, wrapping the second bed sheet loosely around his hips. "What are you doing?" He asked in a soft whisper, as he made his way a few steps towards her. He looked at the canvas in front of her, curiously. He wasn't quite sure what it was that she was trying to paint, but it appeared to be a road of some sort. An attempt at a nature painting, he guessed.

"It's not very good." She looked at the painting, sadly. It sucked and it made her angry. She couldn't understand how this could possibly be relaxing. Better understand him – who was she kidding? She could feel him behind her, analyzing her crappy painting. She wanted to put a hand put a hand over his eyes and shield him from it.

Touching the ends of her dark hair, affectionately, he couldn't help but smile. "This is where people typically make mistakes," he whispered to her. She threw her head back, looking up at him with a puzzled expression. He looked down at her, explaining, "You're trying to make it into something."

She looked back at the painting. "Well, yeah, it's a painting. It's supposed to be a good one…but…" She trailed off, placing her paintbrush down next to the paints.

"Don't do that, don't try and make it something…Just let it be."

His voice was surprisingly calm and relaxed, almost a whisper. Even if he had never told her, she would be able to tell, by his tone of voice alone, that this was something he was passionate about. She silently envied him. She wished she could find something she was this passionate about – something that she could talk about with such fondness and serenity.

"Let it be what?" She asked.

He sighed. "Let it be…whatever it wants to be…" She gave him another puzzled expression, but he couldn't quite explain what he meant. He removed the canvas from the easel and replaced it with a new, blank one. This one was larger than the one she originally chose, giving her more room for creativity. The only way to explain it was to show her. "Close your eyes. Keep them closed, until I tell you to open them."

She closed them, cautiously. She felt his hands rest on her bare shoulders, igniting her body. Memories of their night together colored the black behind her eyelids and woke a craving in her. She remained perfectly still.

"Don't think about color schemes," he instructed. "Pick three colors. They don't have to match. Tell me the three that come to your mind first. _Don't_ think about it."

"Red," was the first one to come to her mind. "Yellow and Orange," she said confidently. His hands left her shoulders, his body touching hers, as he reached for the paintbrush she left to her right side. She fought to keep herself from leaning into his warm body and quietly wondered if he was intentionally causing their bare bodies to touch. She could feel his arm move next to her. "What are you doing?" She asked, with her eyes still closed.

"You're out of orange. I'm making it for you," he replied in a whisper. He proceeded to ask her what color she wanted to see first. She said she wanted yellow, so he washed away the orange from the brush and dipped it in yellow, before handing it to her. "Keep your eyes closed," he instructed.

She took the paintbrush. "I won't be able to see what I'm doing."

"That's the point, love. If you look at it, you're going to want to control it, maybe even fix it." Taking her hand, he moved it to the center of the blank canvas and left it in the air. "Do anything you want: make a line, a dot, a platter, anything your heart desires."

She blindly navigated her way around the canvas with her paintbrush, not knowing what she was doing and not analyzing why she was doing it. She proceeded to do the same with the other two colors. She desperately wanted some soft or positive reinforcement from him, but he remained quiet, until she was done. He instructed her to open her eyes, so she did. She hoped it was good, although she didn't quite expect it to be. After all, how good could it be, if she wasn't even trying? Looking at it, she made a disappointed face at the mess she made. There were a few lines, some of which overlapped and a few splatters. "It's a mess," she told him.

He licked his dry lips, before beginning his explanation. "The color red symbolizes courage," he told her, softly. "It may also symbolize love. By contrast, it can symbolize anger." He waited for her to say something, but she kept her focus on her creation. "Only you know which meaning is most accurate – which you identify the most with, at this exact moment." With his index finger, he pointed to the yellow. "Yellow is happiness," he whispered in her ear. This color choice made him joyful, hoping that this choice indicated the possibility of him making her happy. He hoped that, somehow, he could make her happy. With a small smile, he moved on to the final color. "Orange symbolizes endurance."

She stayed still, looking at the three colors. His hands found her shoulders again, and this time she leaned into him, her eyes never leaving her mess.

"Each color you chose is warm. It speaks of your personality. The combination of these three colors conveys your incredible strength. Your courage, your joy, your ability to endure anything life throws at you, is all expressed in this one painting. More can be said for your choices in brush strokes, their direction, and even how much pressure you placed on the brush, as you swept it across the canvas."

His voice had a seductive quality, as he spoke about her mess. She had never looked at a painting like that. There was so much passion, in the way that he spoke about it. Perhaps, it was his passion that made her mess look beautiful. With his speech, he replaced her ugly mess with a beautiful creation. She smiled warmly, placing her paintbrush down, to her right.

"This is your expression," he told her, quietly. He couldn't help but allow a small smile to form, feeling a glimmer of happiness, knowing she chose to share it with him. "It's abstract…and it's beautiful. It doesn't need to be controlled or fixed," he concluded, confidently.

With his last sentence, it occurred to her that art was the only thing in his life that he didn't feel the need to control. Maybe, that is why he liked it. She leaned into him and he remained steady, allowing his body to be used for support. It was now that she was really starting to understand his reaction the day she hung up his drawings. "Is that why you got mad, when I saw your drawings?" She asked. She felt him tense, for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"I wasn't mad."

"Uncomfortable," she corrected.

He pointed to her painting. "If I look that painting long enough – if I analyze if to the best of my abilities – I'll see your soul."

The thought made her uncomfortable. How much more could a painting like that reveal? She looked away from it and to her hands, which rested on her knees. She fidgeted with the bed sheet, trying to shoo away the feeling of being exposed. She got off her seat and sat back down on the bed. "So you can see mine," she pointed to her beautiful mess, "but I can't see yours?"

He remembered that he threw out all the drawings, before they left the church. "You won't like what you find," he explained, sitting on the other side of the bed.

She looked back down at her hands and raised her brows. "Sounds like a warning."

He didn't reply, not knowing what to say. Placing the covers over him, he removed the bed sheet from his hips, and made himself comfortable in the bed. He felt her eyes on him, pressuring him for a response, but he couldn't offer her one. He kept silent, not looking at her.

"So, what's the point of this, then?" She asked, breaking a short and rather tense silence.

He thought about the question for a moment. "I'm not certain I know what you mean."

She sighed. "You disregard human life, but I don't understand why…because, you were human once, too. I used to think that you were incapable of genuine emotions. I think I was wrong. I'm pretty sure that you can feel, but you act like you're made of stone."

He shifted on the bed, growing very uncomfortable at her analysis. He wanted her to stop.

She continued. "You have obvious control issues, but I can't figure out what made you that way. You express yourself with art, but you were uncomfortable with me seeing the drawings. I mean, you spent so much time trying to get me to give you a chance, and yet you can't let me get too close?"

A smirk left his lips, coated with a light bitterness. "You're not mine," he reminded her of her words. "Remember?"

She looked away, a numbing fear getting the best of her. A fear of being his, invading ever inch of her body, every inch of her soul. She couldn't quite remember how this conversation became so raw. "And what if I was?" She asked, her dead heart now racing. "Would you let me in?" She regretted the direction of this conversation, but going in a different direction was no longer an option.

He cleared his throat, uncomfortably. He watched her, trying to understand her expression, as she sat on the bed and looked down at him. She had made it abundantly clear that all she wanted from him was sex, yet this gave him the impression that she may have been searching for more. "Why is this something you need from me?" He asked, finally.

She stuttered, not having a response right on the tip of her tongue. "I don't know," she replied honestly.

His eyes softened, momentarily. "You're already closer than you think," he told her in quiet voice. He wasn't sure that this would make her feel better, or even that she would understand what he meant. "Your…" he trailed off, deciding that he wanted to avoid the explanation, if possible.

"What?"

_Of course she would require an explanation_, he thought, regretting the mention. Closing his eyes for a moment and taking a breath, he took her hand.

With her hand in his, her bed sheet fell from her chest and covered only her bottom. She ignored it, not wanting to rip the contact between them, anxious for his explanation.

Letting go of the palm of her hand, he hooked her by her four longest fingers. He brought them to a spot on his neck. "This is where you kissed me…more than once" he told her. Lowering her fingers, he stopped at another spot. "Here, is the internal jugular vein. It drains blood from the head and brain. With the correct pressure and the right angle, if you wanted to, you could inflict a lot of damage. Granted, it wouldn't kill me, it would be painful, none the less."

She analyzed the vulnerability that flashed before his eyes. This explanation was perhaps, one of the most surprising things he had ever done. He wasn't done. She felt him move her hand from his neck.

He stopped at his chest. "This is where you kissed," he told her. Moving her fingers a mere millimeter lower, he explained. "This is where my heart is. The effects of ripping it out are self-explanatory." He released her hand, but she kept it in place, over his heart. He removed her hand and looked away, growing nervous at the thought of seeing her reaction.

"That's sad," she whispered, quietly lying down beside him.

He looked at her, not quite understanding the reaction. If he wasn't mistaken, he saw sympathy. He looked away, town between embarrassment and repulsion.

"You live in constant fear that someone will hurt you. I mean, kissing you in the wrong place? Do you know how crazy that is? It's exhausting, living that way."

Her reaction bothered him. It angered him. "Don't pity. It is what it is. I only told you because I thought it might make you feel better." Over the years he had convinced himself that with the life he's led, he had little choice but to be this way – be this guarded. It wasn't something that he needed to be pitied for. As far as he was concerned, it was the people that trusted too easily that were far worse off than he.

He was looking away from her again, and she knew there was little that she could say that wouldn't cause him to respond in an aggravated way. She said nothing, looking back at her beautiful mess, quietly. She remembered his words:

_Don't do that, don't try and make it something… Just let it be._

She was convinced that painting – art – was, perhaps, the only thing in his life that he didn't attempt to manipulate and control. Art is something that would forever stay with him, so he felt no need to be in complete control when putting his emotions on the canvas. Art was the only thing he knew would never leave him, so he let it be. He let it be whatever it wanted to be.

Maybe, that was what she needed to do with him, too. No attempts to fix him, or alter his behaviours. Maybe the best way to really get to know him was to just let him be. She snuggled against him. Feeling his arm come around her, she finally felt ready to drift off to sleep.

He rested, with her against him, painfully awake. This was, quite possibly, the most emotionally exposed that he felt in quite some time. For someone that claimed not to be his, she acted as though she wanted to be. Truthfully, it was confusing and quite terrifying. He ran a hand down her bare back, feeling her silky skin against his hand, longing for the day she might call herself his.

* * *

It was another sunny, cold, December morning.

Caroline twisted in her bed sheet, waking herself up from her restless sleep. She hated waking up nervous. She turned to Klaus, who rested next to her, on his side. His neck was exposed and she remembered what he told her, the night before. She carefully ran a hand to where he told her the internal jugular vein was. She felt bad for him, living a life of constant fear. It must be exhausting, thinking that everyone is bound to cause you harm. Then again, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that everyone in her life had tried to cause him harm – including her. Yes, he started all of it, but still he wasn't exactly wrong in his assumption that everyone was after him.

He opened his eyes, woken up by her touch. "What are you doing?" He asked, sleepily.

She removed her hand, not knowing why she placed it there to begin with. A topic switch was needed, she decided. "I want to do something today," she told him, moving herself closer to him. "I want to go somewhere."

"Where?" He rubbed his eyes and got out of bed.

"Anywhere," she sat up on the bed, watching him slip into a pair of black briefs. "I've never been to Canada," she explained. He hopped into a pair of jeans and she silently wished that he would have stayed in bed with her, for a little while.

_It's your fault, _she told herself._ You told him it was just sex._

"If I stay here, I'll go crazy. I can't just sit and wait for people to come after me. I don't want to sit here and let them mess up a perfectly good day."

Zipping up his jeans, he paused at her explanation. _I don't want to sit here and let them mess up a perfectly good day._ She was, perhaps, one of the only people he had ever met that would have this type of reaction to what he told her. He sat down on the bed, next to her. "The closest attraction to us is the CN Tower," he told her. "I have to meet Elijah, today. The three of us can meet at the restaurant there."

She nodded, with a worried smile. "Three – what about Ethan?"

"I'll get someone to watch him, for the time being." She looked disappointed. "We can go together – you, Ethan, and I." He tried to sooth her expression. "We will walk around, see whatever you want to see, and then drive him back, so he is here by six thirty. Then, the restaurant, around eight." She smiled and he took that as a cue that he had managed to make her feel better. He silently felt an odd feeling of accomplishment. He couldn't quite describe it. A small smile crossed his face and he got off the bed.

"Klaus, wait!" She called him, just as he was leaving the room.

He took a few steps backwards, looking at her. "Yeah?" He asked, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

She walked towards him, slipping her hands around his waist and holding him to her.

Without making another move, he took his hands out of his pockets and lightly placed them on her arms. He watched her look at him, softly. He could feel her hands tracing a pattern on his bare back, as she stood on her tippy-toes and placed a light kiss to his lips. He was still for a moment, his eyes still open. Her lips against his felt nice. He gave in and returned her kiss, with the same softness as she had initiated. He could feel her hands move from his back to the sides of his face.

"Good morning," she breathed, breaking away from the soft kiss.

He looked back at her, slightly confused. This moment, with the softness and unspoken emotion that it carried, didn't seem like a moment that should have been shared between two people that declared they were having "just sex". For a moment, he wondered if she was initiating sex again, but it didn't appear to be so. It was just a kiss. "Good morning," he finally replied back.

She smiled at him lovingly and placed another soft kiss to his lips, before lightly pushing him away, so that he could go back to what he was about to do before she called him back.

He stood in place. "What was that?" It was a question asked with genuine interest, without anger or attitude.

"That was 'good morning'." She turned back to him.

He waited, but she didn't explain further. He ran a hand to the back of his neck and gave it a light scratch. "Look, I'm not trying to read into anything, but you're really blurring lines, here."

She scrunched her brows at his accusation. "What lines? It was just a kiss."

"It's not about the kiss," he explained. "Last night, you wanted to know more about me. You stayed in my bed, the whole night. You slept on my chest for a good portion of that night. How is any of that meant to be categorized as 'just sex'?" She stared at him, looking worried, prompting him to try and put her out of her misery, while still getting his point across. "I don't need you to label this," he said, taking a few steps towards her. "But I do need you to figure out what you want from me, because if your actions are any indication, you don't want 'just sex'."

And with that, he walked away, not looking back, leaving her to think about his words.

* * *

Caroline ran her hand along the doorknob, slowly turning it. She gave the door three knocks, while opening it. Not hearing signs of protest, she walked into the study where Klaus was. "Is this okay?" She asked, pointing at herself.

He put down his glass of blood and looked up from his book.

She wore an elegant white blouse, a high-waist black skirt, and black heels. She stood before him, one leg over the other, and her hands at her sides. Her bangs were long enough that she swept them out of her face and to the side. Her curls fell to her shoulders.

He put his book down. "You look beautiful," he replied honestly.

She twirled around, giving him the full view, and walked over to his desk. "You always say things like that," she said, her voice carrying a hint of disappointment. There wasn't a chair nearby, she lifted herself up and sat on top of his desk, crossing one leg over the other.

He leaned back on his chair, admiring the woman sitting on his desk. "You sound disappointed."

"No, it's nice," she admitted. "I just don't always know if you're being truthful." She took his half-finished cup of blood and drank a few sips. It was her least favorite type, so she put the rest of the drink down, on the edge of the desk.

He raised a brow. "Now, would I lie, sweetheart?"

She smiled at his joking tone and raised a brow of her own, in response.

"Okay," he raised his hands up softly in surrender. "But, not about this." He placed a hand on her knee and pulled himself closer to her. "But, you know, we're going around eight, for the restaurant. You're dressed a little early."

"Yeah, well, I like being prepared," she let him know in a flirtatious tone. "But you're right – I should go change." She placed her hands on either side of her, ready to hop off the desk, but he placed both of his hands over hers. He let go of her hands and she stayed in place.

With a flicker of lust in his eyes, he slipped a hand under her skirt, tracing her bare thigh. "I think we can find some use for his outfit, in the mean time," he said, his voice low and seductive. His hands went from her thighs to her knees and he softly raised her left leg off her right, making room for himself.

She followed willingly and placed her legs on either side of him, her heels digging into the office chair he was sitting on. Seeing him raise his chin to kiss her, she pulled back, teasing him, just as he had done to her the night before. His only response was an amused smirk, so she placed her hands on the back of his head and brought him in for a kiss. She could feel his hands on her butt. Suddenly, she felt him pull her towards him, so that she slipped off the desk and onto his lap. A gasp left her at the quickness of his action, but she quickly recovered and deepened the kiss.

He was one that was always well aware of his surroundings – always. It was a skill he had become very good at maintaining, due to his years on the run from his father. Caroline wasn't wrong, when she said he lived his life in fear. No, fear was the wrong word – he feared no one. Caution was a more precise term. Even in times where he was in no immediate danger, his surroundings were crystal clear. All of this disappeared in the presence of this one beautiful woman. Being so close to her, with their bodies touching, nothing was crystal clear. His surroundings were a blur. It was excruciatingly terrifying, yet wonderfully exhilarating. It was a luxury that he couldn't help but give into. His fingers curled around the buttons of her blouse.

She pulled away, feeling a light vibration between her legs. "What the..." She adjusted herself on his lap and raised her gaze to meet his. The vibration was followed by a soft bell noise and she realized it was his phone. She laughed, placing her hands from the back of his head to his shoulders.

He was torn between joining her in laughter and taking the moment to revel in his disappointment over the lost moment. He smiled, taking his phone out of his pocket. "That's my reminder," he said, sadly.

"For what?" She played with the buttons of his shirt.

"Ethan has a tutor coming here, in ten minutes." He threw his phone on the desk and turned his attention back to Caroline.

"Since when?"

"Since yesterday, when you weren't speaking with me."

"Does Ethan know?"

"I told him."

"Does he want to?"

"It's not a choice," he said, bluntly. He couldn't quite make out the look she gave him, but he knew she wasn't happy with his response. "He needs to learn to read," he said, hoping to chase that look away.

She was a little disappointed. For a reason she couldn't quite understand, she was hoping that she could teach him. She kept silent, not giving in to her disappointment. It was better this way, she concluded. Surely, a tutor would do a better job than she could. "I know," she replied. She looked at the time on his phone. "We do still have like ten minutes, before the tutor gets here…" She winked playfully, causing a small laugh to leave him.

Her hands still rested at the buttons of his shirt and he placed a hand over them, removing her hand. "As tempting as that sounds, being limited to ten minutes is a little too much pressure." He lifted her off his lap and back onto the desk, proceeding to get out of his office chair.

She got off the desk and came around to the side that allowed her to face the door. She leaned against it, hoping to tempt him with a sexy smile. "What, are you afraid you won't be able to _rise_ to the challenge?"

He smirked playfully and turned around to face her, in response. "You're challenging me?"

She nodded, but just as he took a step closer the doorbell rang. Her sly smile broke out into a full grin.

He stopped dead in his tracks, his smirk instantly fading. "Ten minutes early. He must think it will result in higher pay." His tone was angry at the unwelcome interruption. "Little does he know…" he mumbled, heading towards the door.

He left his phone on the desk. It vibrated again, this time, from a text message. Caroline turned her head, looking at it. It triggered memories of what Klaus had told her last night. She had spent a good portion of the day trying to be optimistic, but the sound of this text – for whatever reason – brought her worries back. She leaned over, looking at it. The text flashed across the screen.

_FROM: Elijah Mikaelson_

_I have it. See you at 8._

Have what? She wondered, curiously. What does he have? Is this about the hunter? The council?

* * *

Caroline walked confidently by Klaus' side, as they reached the entrance of the restaurant. It was fake confidence. She looked around at the gorgeous decorations and well-dressed people. She looked good enough to belong, but she couldn't help but second guess herself. The restaurants she had been to were all on the grounds of small-town Mystic Falls. Needless to say, the city of Toronto and the 360 Restaurant were…different.

She glanced at Klaus, who looked perfectly put together in black dress pants and a crisp white dress shirt. The first three buttons were undone, revealing some of his light chest hair. He strolled in, confidently, as though he was some celebrity and everyone knew him. A few people looked at him, but for the most part people were busy with their own conversations. He didn't notice any of them, keeping his gaze straight ahead at the woman taking reservations.

"This is nothing like the Grill," she muttered under her breath.

He smiled. "It's not." He slipped a hand around her waist, keeping her to him. "You look stunning," he assured her.

Before she could say anything, Elijah emerged in front of them. He was carrying a suit case, making Caroline grow even more curious. _Is this what he was talking about in the text message?_ She looked from his expensive looking shoes, to his equally expensive looking dress pants, dress shirt, and jacket. Just like his brother, he was confident and composed. She mouthed a quiet "hello" to him.

He looked at her with a surprised expression but recovered quickly. "Hello, Caroline."

The way he said it was almost a question. "The hair – I know," she slicked her long bangs to the side.

"It's a lovely change," he commented.

What as it with these brothers? Were they being honest, or just the masters of charming women? She smiled, giving him an unspoken thank you.

"Three, please," Klaus told the brunette in front of him.

Her green eyes sparkled and she flashed a big smile. "Reservations?" She asked.

She fumbled through her folder of reservations, before Klaus even gave her a name. Caroline silently wondered if she was trying to hide her blushing from the two handsome men in front of her, or if she was just eager to please. In a second, she felt Klaus' grip tighten on her waist, making her flinch in pain. She glared at him. He looked angry and it occurred to her that they didn't have a reservation.

"Excuse me," Elijah stepped in. With his pupils dilating, he asked "May I please have that folder?" His voice was charming and seductive. Much like Klaus' often was. He flipped through the pages in the folder. Taking a pen off her desk, he scribbled out a name. "Would you please offer Dylan Spade your deepest apologies? It seems you have forgotten to write down his reservation."

She nodded, blankly.

"Now, let's try this again," he suggested. "Three, please?"

She smiled eagerly, running her hands down the page. "We have an open spot for 8:15," she announced happily.

Klaus looked absolutely bitter, as though he was ready to end the life of the next person who spoke to him.

It dawned on Caroline that Elijah had to step in and compel the girl… because Klaus couldn't. Klaus' words echoed in her head. _This lack of power that I have right now is excruciatingly difficult for me_. Was it really that difficult for him, not being able to compel? She considered it one of the perks of being a vampire and sure, it was convenient, but it was something she found she was able to live without.

They proceeded to a window seat. Caroline took a moment to look outside. The bright city lights shined beautifully below her. There were candles near the windows, giving the restaurant a romantic atmosphere. Everything was wonderfully decorated, very elegant.

Both Elijah and Klaus leaned over to pull her chair out for her. She looked at them, surprised. Klaus shot Elijah a dangerous glance and Elijah took his hands off the back of the chair. He sat down, adjusting the napkins instead. Klaus proceeded to pull her chair out, take off her jacket, and place it on the back of her chair.

She had never spent much time around Elijah. Seeing the two of them together, she couldn't help but notice their very similar behaviours. They had the same charming table manners, both of them adjusting the napkins in front of them. She glanced down at the one she had in front of her, feeling no need to adjust it. They both sat, backs straight, completely in control of every move they made and with Klaus' anger subsiding, they appeared to be equally calm. It struck her as odd, considering they were here to discuss a very unwelcome matter. It was as if they both had the same ability to numb their emotions in stressful situations. They were both ridiculously attractive; making her wonder how one gene pool could work such magic. Now that they were sitting, a few women were glancing over at the table. Both Elijah and Klaus gave them no attention. It was fascinating that two brothers who were so different could be so similar.

"Are you ready?" A waitress stepped in front of their table, her smile reaching from ear to ear.

Before Caroline had a chance to protest, Klaus replied with a "Yes." He skimmed his menu, one last time. "I will have the Niagara prosciutto, smoked Olives, and tomato crostini, for starters. From the main menu, the slow roasted prime beef." He glanced at Caroline and continued, "She will have the –

Her mouth popped open as he began ordering for her. She wouldn't mind, if he was actually ordering something she wanted. He was ordering something with mushrooms. She hated mushrooms. She shot him a look, saying nothing. She didn't want to be ungrateful, but it bothered her that he didn't even ask her what she wanted.

He stopped his order, looking at her saddened expression. He raised his brows, wondering what he had done to elicit such a look.

"That's not what I wanted," She whispered.

The woman taking the order obviously didn't hear, but Elijah did. He cleared his throat. "My apologies, but I am still undecided," he lied, not wanting to put Caroline on the spot. "If you could, please, return in a few minutes that would be wonderful."

The woman walked away with a nod and a smile.

"Thank you," Caroline told Elijah, softly. He nodded at her and she smiled, in response.

"Let me know what you would like, once you've decided," Klaus told her. His tone did not appear hostile, angry, or aggravated. Oddly enough, it was almost apologetic, as if he felt as embarrassed for not asking her, as she had for interrupting his order.

Once the orders had been made, neither brother wanted to waste any time.

"Now, shall we discuss the pressing matter at hand?" Elijah asked. He had cleverly formed it as a question, although it was more of a statement. His black suitcase rested by his side, a little under the table.

Caroline leaned over, a little to the side, looking at it.

_What the hell is in there?_

* * *

**Okay, that that is the end of chapter 11. I really hope you guys enjoyed reading it. More will be revealed about the hunter and everything else in the next chapter. Let me know how you feel about this twist.**

**Also, I do want this to be something that Klaus and Caroline deal with as a team. With that said, they are still getting to know each other and their "status" (are they a couple/not a couple) is unclear. Just because I will throw in occasional smut, doesn't mean there won't also be tears and fights. Like I said, they are still getting to know each other and learning from each other. They may sometimes press each other's buttons. Klaus knows he likes her, but he is still scared of love (I haven't really focused on it yet). Caroline is admitting to a physical attraction, but still in denial about an emotional connection. So, all this denial may take a toll on them, eventually. We shall see...**

**Anyways, yeah, I hope you guys are still interested in the fic. Please leave reviews!**

**i-enjoy-you (tumblr). **


	12. Be My Distraction

**As always, thank you so much for the reviews and follows! You guys are amazing :)**

**Notes at the end.**

* * *

Elijah was relaxed, or at least he appeared to be.

Caroline wasn't quite sure why. Maybe, it had something to do with him being invincible. Yes, the hunter could potentially capture them and cause chaos, but he couldn't kill them, could he? Surely, this was more pressing for Klaus, who was currently powerless.

Elijah was looking at her. She looked back, expecting that he would divert his gaze, but he did not. It was as though he was analyzing her, trying to read her body language, her expressions, trying to solve her as though she was a puzzle. It was like he was looking for something and she wondered what it was.

"What's in the suitcase?" Caroline finally asked.

He blinked, looking away. Without a word, he unzipped the black suitcase and took out a few papers. He distributed them amongst Klaus and Caroline. "This is everything I could dig up on the hunter," he explained.

Caroline glanced at a perfectly crisp copy of a birth certificate. "Conner," she read the first name. She looked through a few other pages, reading the interesting bits out loud. "His mother is deceased," she told them, although she was sure Elijah already looked through them.

"On record as an animal attack," Klaus said quietly, reading off his paper. He rolled his eyes at the cause of death, almost in amusement.

"The hunter and the council are working together," Elijah told them.

Klaus scanned his pages and then handed them to Caroline. She handed him hers, in response.

"They are gathering up all the vampires they can find in Mystic Falls," Elijah continued.

Caroline lifted her head from the pages. "Stefan… Tyler… all of them… are they okay?" She internally yelled at herself for acting as though she had any right to worry about them, after what she and Klaus did. She left them. She abandoned them. Not only that, but she slept with the enemy. If only they knew…

"They appear to be unharmed, for now," he assured her calmly. "Forgive me, but my concerns were with Kol and Rebekah, first."

"Where are they?" Klaus asked. A quick wave of worry crossed his face. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"They fled to Europe. Italy, I believe." He paused for a moment, remembering Kol's excitement over the beautiful woman he would find there, and then continued. "He says this council business is none of his concern. If they want him, they are to chase him."

Kol had successfully transformed this council vampire hunt into a game, Klaus understood. Typical. "It's just as well," he replied.

"Yes, well, at my urging he took Rebekah with him."

Caroline couldn't help but latch on to the way Elijah said that last sentence. He became uncomfortable and uneasy, explaining that Rebekah was with Kol. What was the big deal? Were they under the impression that Rebekah needed to be taken care of? She didn't understand, but kept quiet.

"I believe their priorities are with the vampires in Mystic Falls, first and foremost. Still, I encourage the two of you to move past Canada, just to be safe," Elijah advised. "The farther you are, the less danger you are in."

Caroline sat quietly, her thoughts still with the people she cared for in MysticFalls. Elijah and Klaus carried on their conversation as though she wasn't there, and she didn't mind. Really, her mind wasn't with them. They were treating this as though it wasn't a big deal. Somehow, simply staying out of MysticFalls seemed like too easy of a solution. There had to be more to it. More that they didn't know yet.

It was decided that they would leave Canada in the next few days. It was a temporary stop, anyway. Tonight, however, they would spend at Elijah's house. All three of them. Four, counting Ethan.

They came in separate cars, meaning that Elijah left in his. Caroline and Klaus walked out of the restaurant and towards their crummy car.

Klaus came around to her side of the car, opening the door for her and she whispered a quiet thank you. She looked outside, while he came around to the driver's side of the car. It was absolutely beautiful. The lights of the CN Tower shone brightly and she could vaguely hear Frank Sinatra's "_Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_" playing in the distance. It was snowing lightly, a beautiful distraction from her current worries. It was views like these that reminded her why she loved life. She looked at Klaus, as he sat down in his seat.

He gave her a small glance, but said nothing.

The car clock read that it was almost eleven, but she wasn't quite ready to go back. She looked outside, not wanting to leave the beautiful view. For a reason quite beyond her, she felt as though she hadn't seen everything there was to see here. She hadn't done everything there was to do. Logically, she knew that it was impossible to do and see everything in one night, but none the less, the urge was there. This was the first time that she really craved the world and she couldn't quite explain why. It was a need she never felt before, and she didn't know what triggered it. For the first time in her life, she wanted the world – every inch of it.

Klaus got the car going, to warm it up and the windows soon became little foggy. She took her index finger and drew a smiley face. "Do you want to go for a walk?" She broke the comfortable silence between them.

He raised his brows in surprise at the question. "If you want," he replied. He glanced from her heels to the icy roads outside. "You'll be okay?" He silently remembered her categorizing her shoes as "car shoes". He wasn't entirely sure what she meant, exactly, but it was likely equivalent to her saying that they were not meant for walking icy roads.

She saw where he was looking and took them off. Reaching behind his seat, she grabbed a plastic bag and pulled out a change of clothes.

His eyes widened in surprise. His lips parted at the sight of her stripping out of her clothes, but he said nothing. His eyes focused on what she was doing; how she slowly unbuttoned the buttons of her blouse, took off her skirt, and how she slowly rolled down her black pantyhose, revealing her bare legs. Her full chest bounced lightly as she moved around in her seat, undressing herself. It was supported by a lacy white bra, with matching underwear. Her skirt was soon replaced by a dark pair of jeans and her white top was replaced by a black knitted sweater. Without giving him a glance, she changed her heels for a pair of boots with a flat sole.

Her dark hair fell to her arms, reminding her that she wanted to tell him something. "I'm going back to my blonde hair, by the way," she informed casually, putting her other clothes in the bag. "Since my face is no longer in newspapers and all…" She gave him a quick glance, before going back to what she was doing.

"Good," he replied. He wasn't sure if she was asking him or telling him. In any case, he preferred blonde, although she was beautiful either way. It had been so many weeks since he has seen her with blonde locks, he had trouble picturing it.

"Done," she announced, although she knew he was looking at her. She felt his eyes piercing into her. Oddly enough, not a single insecurity found its way into her thoughts. It was interesting, she thought, because with anyone else she would have been forced to endure at least one insecure thought, undressing hurriedly in a car. She looked at him and his eyes gazed back in surprise, wordlessly asking for an explanation. "I told you – I like being prepared," she explained to him. His look hadn't changed. "Don't look at me like that – it's like when you somehow knew that you would need a screw driver to start a car you hadn't stolen yet." He was still looking at her, not saying anything, so she raised her brows in response.

He smiled, silently wondering how long he could look at her for, before she stopped feeling the need to explain herself. It was giving him a new feeling of amusement. He kept looking, not saying anything.

"Can we go?" She placed the plastic bag, now filled with her other clothes, back behind his seat.

Without him realizing, his smile became a grin. "Let's go," he replied.

They walked in silence amongst the snowy roads. For now, Caroline managed to push all negative thoughts out of her head and focused on all the beautiful things around her. It was a beautiful night. The colorful lights shone against the white snow and icy roads. As it turned out, she adored the city. The atmosphere was so lively and everyone was so cheerful, in the holiday spirit. She could still hear the vague Christmas music, blasting from a far away building. A few cheerful volunteers stood near the roads, collecting money for the Salvation Army and spreading holiday cheer, lightly ringing hand-held bells. She sighed, almost as though she was trying to inhale their happiness and feel what they felt.

Klaus walked next to her, his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. She hadn't spoken in a while and he began to wonder if, perhaps, her thoughts were returning to the information Elijah had revealed earlier. If so, that meant she was worried. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to determine if she was miserable or happy. She appeared to be happily distracted by the city lights – at least, for now. A ghost of a smile creased her face and revealed her light dimples, as she looked around her. The snow lightly fell to her chocolate colored hair, providing a beautiful contrast.

"Talk to me," he said. It was a hopeful request, although he said it in a more commanding tone than he expected.

She looked up at him. Some snow fell onto her lashes, making her blink. "About what?" She asked, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"We're leaving in the next few days," he told her. "Where would you like to go?"

_Oh? I'm picking?_ "Anywhere?" She asked. The last time he had asked her to pick a place – which wasn't all that long ago – she couldn't think of one. Now, she wanted to go anywhere and everywhere. Before he even answered her question, she battled between different countries in her head, trying to decide which she wanted to see first. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly caused this change in her, but couldn't give herself an answer.

"Anywhere," he nodded. "Where would you like to spend the rest of the holidays? Perhaps, ring in the new year."

The holidays – thinking of it like they were just going away for the holidays helped her with her decision. Right away, she knew her answer. "It's going to sound girly and corny," she warned.

He replied with only a warm glance.

"Paris? It's supposed to be really pretty in the winter time."

He smiled, remembering his earlier offer to take her to Rome, Paris, or Tokyo. "It is quite beautiful there this time of year."

They walked in silence for a few more moments. Caroline didn't appear to be walking anywhere in particular, just walking. He found that he didn't mind not knowing where they were walking. She was by his side and although she wasn't talking very much at the moment, he enjoyed her company. He looked at her, but she was too busy looking around her to notice. She appeared so interested by everything around her. It was interesting, how much she seemed to crave life. What was most unexpected was that he felt as though he was seeing everything for the first time, too. It was as though he was seeing it through her eyes. Everything seemed more beautiful through her eyes.

He cleared his throat. "So, why are we walking, exactly?"

"I just need a little distraction," she replied honestly. "I don't want to think about any of this other stuff." She looked at him, waiting for a response, but he didn't offer her one. He appeared content with her explanation. She looked to her side, seeing an almost empty ice-skating rink. "Hey," she nudged his shoulder and he looked at her. "When's the last time you've been skating?"

He shrugged. "It's been a while." He wasn't a huge fan of skating, the blades digging into the ice, the lack of control over speed, and so on.

"Let's go," she pointed to the rink. He opened his mouth – to protest, if she guessed correctly – but she didn't give him a chance to say anything, taking hold of his wrist and dragging him behind her.

"Wait here," he instructed, leaving her at the entrance of the rink.

"Where are you going?" She called out to him, but he didn't respond. A few moments later, before Klaus arrived, a stumpy old man walked out to the rink and announced that everyone had to leave. They were closing early, he said. It was not long before people started walking out of the rink, their faces disappointed. For a moment, a hint of disappointment came over her, too. It quickly vanished, seeing Klaus appear before her with two pairs of skates. She blinked at him, confused, as a few people walked out of the rink and passed her.

"As luck would have it, when compulsion isn't an option, bribery can work to my benefit." He handed her a pair of skates.

Klaus watched her skate circles around the rink, her face painted with an optimistic smile. This was effortless for her, the skating. She spun beautifully, with complete control over her movements, and landed gracefully from her jumps. She was passionate about this, he guessed. It was a beautiful thing to watch; her joy following her as she danced on the ice.

"Where did you learn to skate?" He asked, following her.

"My dad signed me up for classes when I was a five," she told him. "I stopped a few years ago."

"Why?"

"My parents split up," she said. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She watched his reaction. He was surprised, if she was reading his glance correctly. Should she explain? "I was angry at my dad… I was angry at everyone… so I stopped." Come to think of it, this was her first time skating since then, she realized. His only reaction to her explanation was a nod, as though he somehow understood her. She couldn't see why he would, given that his family circumstances were far different from her own.

And just then, he asked a question she didn't expect. No one had ever asked her that question, before – not even her dad.

"Why do you like it?" He asked. It wasn't a sport he particularly enjoyed. As far as winter sports went, he would much rather ski.

It was an interesting question, mainly because it was an uncommon one. She realized, most people will ask what someone likes, but very few will ever ask why they like it. Truthfully, she wasn't quite certain. Still, her mouth opened to speak and words flew out before she could even think about her response. It appeared she had the answer, before she even gave herself a moment to think about it.

"I like the wind," she explained. It was the first thing that came to her mind. "It's like it splits in half, letting you through." She jumped up, spinning in the air for a few seconds. "The entire world spins around you, as if you're the center of it all." She wasn't sure that it made sense to him, her explanation. Words were failing her, like always. And then it hit her; she could explain this to him in a way that he would understand. Skating towards him, she touched his shoulder, making a circle around him. "There's a sense of power," she explained. With the look in his eyes, she realized she hooked him. "It's like you have power over gravity, power over distance, and no one can take it away from you. Complete control."

For a reason quite beyond him, the explanation left him breathless. Her love for the sport was palpable and what was most breath-taking was that she shared it with him. If only for a moment, he was a part of her world. In a split second, she became even more beautiful than before. He found himself unable to move, taken aback by her beauty, staying in place like a love-struck little boy.

"You know, this was very altruistic of you – doing this for me," she said as she skated away from him. She wasn't entirely certain why she said this, but like always her mouth spoke before her head could stop her.

A laugh escaped him. Not because what she said was funny, but because it was so terribly inaccurate. "There is no such thing, love."

She stopped and turned around to face him. They were on opposite sides of the rink, quite literally. "Yes, there is," she said with absolute confidence.

"Selflessness…" His voice trailed off as he pondered the word. "There simply is no such thing."

She spread her arms, extending them at her sides. "So, what do you call this? This was you being selfish?"

"Yes." He replied, without hesitation. She looked at him with wide eyes, so he explained. "I'm here alone with you. It shouldn't be a secret to you that this is something I have wanted all along. However, I very cleverly made a very selfish deed appear selfless."

He watched her skate towards him, her hands gravitating to his shoulders. Their lips connected in a soft and tender kiss and he could feel her cold hands behind his ears. It was a chaste kiss.

She pulled away, tenderly. His eyes were still closed and she smiled. "That was nice, right?"

His eyes opened. "Yes," he agreed. She smiled at him, so he asked, "You did it to prove a point?"

She nodded.

"Therefore, it was selfish." He smiled at her frustrated sigh.

She skated around the empty rink a few times, trying to think of an example to prove that he was wrong. A few moments later, she thought of one. "Okay, how about you killing the witch-y person? Before we got arrested? How was that selfish?" _There, I win_.

"I'm afraid you're giving me too much credit. I didn't want to see you hurt," he explained effortlessly. "I felt uncomfortable at the thought of something happening to you, so I stopped it. I did it for me, as much as I did it for you."

She raised a hand in disbelief. How on earth could he turn everything good into something selfish? He was wrong, she knew it. He had to be. She wanted to argue this, but she knew it could last forever and changing his opinion was virtually impossible. "It must suck to live in your world," she told him, her words somewhat bitter.

He laughed. "It's not too bad."

"Well, I refuse to live in this world, believing that everyone is selfish."

She had skated far away from him now, forcing him to chase her. He caught up to her in a matter of a few seconds. "Well, that's why I like you," he told her, smiling.

She couldn't help but smile as he skated towards her and pressed her between himself and the wall of the skating rink. Her hands found his waist and latched onto his jacket. God, he smelled good. He always smelled of expensive cologne mixed with the fresh sent of his body wash.

_I like you, too_. She wanted to say those words out loud, but she didn't dare. Instead, she quickly brushed them away from her mind, pretending as though she didn't feel them. She didn't like him. How could she? He was horrible.

This would be much easier to believe, if he wasn't kissing her. His lips softly pressed to hers, slowly inviting himself into her mouth. She wrapped her arms around him. She couldn't help herself. Any and all rational thoughts were escaping her and she couldn't understand why; why he had this effect on her. She deepened the kiss, allowing him to take full advantage. It was nice, letting go of all her worries like this.

"Car?" She suggested, between kisses.

"No," he replied, as though it was a repulsive thought. She lightly pushed him away, so he suggested they go back home to finish what they started.

"… Right, to Elijah and his vamp hearing."

"Hotel," he decided.

* * *

Getting to the hotel room was difficult.

Caroline held herself to him, her hands tightly around his neck, connecting their lips. He returned her kiss as he walked forward, his hands on her back, keeping her from falling as she walked backwards. He opened his eyes, looking for their room. His concentration was lacking and all the numbers were blurry. The only coherent thought he had told him that he wanted her. _Now_. Reluctantly, he broke away from their kiss and he could feel her hands on the buttons of his jacket. Still walking backwards, she unbuttoned the first four buttons, revealing his dress shirt, which had the first three buttons undone and exposed his flesh. Her lips gravitated towards his neck, placing a hungry kiss on his skin, sucking lightly.

"Easy." He whispered, his voice low, the feeling of her mouth on his skin overtaking him. By a sheer miracle, he spotted their room number.

With her arms still holding him to her, he spun her around so that she was against the wall and lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist tightly, and he swore she could feel every move his body made, underneath the fabric of his pants. He wasn't entirely certain how he managed to enter the room so quickly, but it was not long before he heard the light slamming of the hotel room door. Letting her feet hit the floor, he was just about ready to press her against the wall of the hotel room, but she acted faster than he. He was the one against the wall now, wonderfully trapped in a passionate kiss, as she moved her hips against him, softly massaging him with her pelvis.

It was not long before most of their clothes were removed, scattered around various parts of the room, and he found himself in only a pair of briefs. She pressed her body against his, in only a bra and underwear. His eyes opened, breaking away from the kiss, and he found the bed. He lightly pushed her towards it.

She could feel the edge of the bed against her legs. With a small moan, she moved so that he would be the one below her, once they finally hit the bed. She pushed down, lightly and he went willingly, allowing her to position herself over him, straddling him. She trailed a kiss from his lips to the corner of this mouth, and then to his temple. "How long do we have the room?" She whispered into his ear.

"The night," he responded, burying himself in the crook of her neck.

"Good," she smiled. "We can do this twice."

He sat up, taking her with him so that they were both sitting. With one hand on her lower back, he unclasped her bra with his free hand. His lips found her soft skin, placing lingering kisses to her shoulders as he pushed back the bra straps and took off the bra, revealing her plump chest.

"…or thrice," he said with a smile, throwing the bra to the floor of the hotel room.

His arms came around her, setting her emotions on fire. Her arms came around him in response, causing her bare chest to press against his. In his arms, she was wrapped in a euphoric feeling of want and desire, wonderfully blended with security and safety. It was as though, when she was in his arms, no one could touch her. It was a heaven of its own. They were so close, their bodies touching, yet it still didn't seem close enough. She wanted their bodies to become one. For a moment, her thoughts became out of her control. She began to wonder if this is what it would feel like to be his, only his. Would this blissfulness she was feeling now last her for all eternity? How wonderful would that be!

She was scared now, realizing the unwelcome path her emotions were taking. She couldn't think about this emotionally, she decided. This had to be physical – only physical. He was hot and she needed a distraction, she concluded. It was that simple. This wasn't making love. This wasn't even sex. This was fucking.

And with that, she picked up the pace of their kiss. Her movements quickened, making their act purely physical. For a moment, it appeared that Klaus seemed taken aback by the sudden change, but he went with it. With only a few light pants, from the kiss that left her breathless, she pushed him down so that he rested on the bed. Her lips found the skin on his chest, kissing him from the chest down, until she reached the line of his briefs and pulled them down. She felt him slip his hand between her legs as she stroked him. It was working, she was making it physical and he was going along with it. This is what she wanted, she lied to herself.

They played between the sheets, not concerned with anything except their wound up bodies and the anticipation of release. She soon found herself wonderfully trapped under his body. Her fingers traced the muscles on of his lower back and she tilted her head back, giving him easy access to her neck. She felt his tongue on her skin, moving along a vein until he reached her ear and bit lightly. His tongue traced where he bit, soothingly. Moving his lips over hers, he leaned down and trapped her in a rough kiss, thrusting into her as he did this. He pressed her lower lip between his teeth, tugging lightly and then releasing it. She smiled at this and he silently wondered how far he would be able to take this route, indulging in the rougher type of sex. Feeling her body tense beneath him and her walls tighten around him, he stilled, stopping her from finding release.

"God, why do you keep doing that?" Her fingers dug into the pillows under her head, frustrated.

He smirked, whispering "it's fun".

And with that, he started to move again. It doesn't take long for her to come apart under him, only a few quick thrusts. Her moans left him breathless as he continued to slam into her, feeling himself starting to fill her. Her fingernails dug into his bare back as he found his release through clenched teeth.

He stayed inside her for a moment, her walls still contracting around his cock. She arched herself up to meet his lips. As he moved to meet hers, in response, she pulled away and kissed his nose instead, sweetly. He thought this was unexpected, judging by the look he gave her. It was unexpected, she realized. She shouldn't have done that, she told herself. But she did. She was the one making this emotional. This is not supposed to be emotional, she drilled into her head. He moved out of her and to her side, leaving a small gap between them. She moved away, adding even more distance.

"As far as distractions go, I'd say that was pretty good…"

He laughed. "I would agree." He didn't particularly like just being her distraction, but he decided there were worse things she could see him as. If it was either this or nothing, he would settle for this – at least, for now.

She moved to her side and propped her head up on her elbow. "What's wrong with car sex?" She looked at him, remembering her earlier proposition. The one he denied.

"It's uncomfortable," he replied with ease.

"So, you've had car sex…" _God, Caroline, why?_

He glanced at her, raising only a brow in response. He could feel her discomfort mixing with his own. "You're sure you want to discuss this?"

"No," she said, a little too quickly. "Forget it." An uncomfortable tug of jealousy made her want to hurl the dinner she had earlier. Why did she never think before she spoke? More uncomfortable questions began popping up in her head. How many women has he been with? Has he had a threesome? She remembered him biting her lip and questioned if he's done BDSM. Surely, he's experimented. Her cheeks burned from her silent questions. The thoughts were intrusive and she wanted them to stop. She cleared her throat. "We should go," she told him, getting out of the bed and scanning the room to find her bra.

He sat up from the bed, propping himself up on his elbows. "Are you okay?" He asked, puzzled by how suddenly she jumped out of bed.

"Fine," she lied. God, she was jealous and he hadn't even said anything. _Stupid_. Somehow, this just sex thing was easier in her head. "Besides, I've been avoiding reality for the past three hours. Enough is enough." She couldn't find her bra, so she hopped into her pair of jeans. Suddenly, she felt him come up behind her. His hands extended over her head and she saw him hold out her bra, each hand holding a strap, in front of her. Without a word, she slipped her hands through it and felt him clasp it closed behind her. "Thanks," she told him.

"You know, you're reality is actually not so bad," he let her know as he began finding his own clothes, tossed around various parts of the room. "As long as we stay out of Mystic Falls, we're not in any danger." Funny, she was usually the one being an optimist.

She tossed him his shirt. "It's easy to be an optimist when you don't have anyone you care about in Mystic Falls…"

"There is nothing you can do." Truthfully, he was happy over this. Not for her friends being in danger – he didn't particularly care – but for her being unable to go back to that small town. He was greatly enjoying having her with him, away from anyone who would tell her that she was wrong for spending her days with him. He would keep her away from them for as long as possible, he decided.

"There is something. I can go back there and –"

"Over my dead body," he interrupted. "Being powerless, you'd sooner die than help them."

She said nothing, knowing he was right. Still, it felt like she was making excuses.

* * *

They were back at Elijah's now.

Walking out of the shower, Caroline stopped to glance at her reflection. They had stopped, on their way home, to get her some hair color and she was now blonde again. It felt nice, she thought. It was like getting a piece of her old life back. She swept her blonde locks to her side, quietly wondering if Klaus would be happy with the change. She shouldn't care. She knew that, but the thought escaped her before she could even attempt to control it. She found that she wanted him to think she was beautiful. She wanted him to compliment her on her hair when she got downstairs. It was silly, but it's what she wanted.

Going downstairs, she quietly walked past Elijah, who sat on the couch with a glass of red wine. Giving him a second look, she took a few steps back.

"Elijah," she called him and he looked up from his glass. "Thank you for letting us stay in your house." It occurred to her that this was the first time she thanked him for his kind act.

He smiled, appreciating her thankfulness. "You're very welcome."

Before she could say anything else, Klaus stormed into the room. The atmosphere of the room changed in a split second, going from calm to angry.

"What the hell is this?" He handed Caroline a piece of paper.

With her eyes indicating her confusion, she cautiously took it from him. It was her letter, to her mom. She never sent it, although she planned to. Given that he appeared to be so angry, he knew exactly what it was. "It's a letter," she stated the obvious. "… to my mom."

"You're not sending this." It wasn't a question, not a negotiation - it was a command.

* * *

**Okay, so yeah, the hunter after them is Connor. I actually changed around the fic to tie it in with what we see on the show. I will change around the character a little bit, though, so don't expect him to be exactly the same as what we saw him as on TVD. With that said, he is, like on the show, a part of the five. Elijah and Klaus don't know that yet, so they think if push comes to shove they can just kill him (from the show we know how killing a hunter like him ends, though). Oh, and I guess I'm kind of stating the obvious, but Elijah and Klaus are a little too cocky when it comes to this hunter thing. It may or may not bite them in the behind soon. **

**Please, please, please, leave your thoughts in a review!**

**i-enjoy-you (tumblr).**


	13. Between Manipulation and Love

**Okay, first off, I want to thank everyone who took the time to leave a review for me! You guys all left such nice things and it made me feel so much better about the fic, so thank you so much, for that! To say I appreciate it is an understatement!**

**I want to adress a review that was left for me, in regards to Ethan and how Klaus and Caroline are kind of ignoring him, a little bit. I am actually so glad that someone noticed this! I have been dropping little hints about it and hoping someone would pick up on the fact that they are not the best parental figures. I would like to explain this, now that it has been mentioned. First off, keep in mind that Caroline is really young and she is an only child. She has no clue, the work that goes into raising a child. She has no clue how a healthy 8 year old boy behaves, what they are 'supposed' to know by this age, and so on. Klaus is so emotionally damadged that being a father-figure is kind of out of his comfort zone. He wants to help him, which is why he took him. They both want to help him, but they both have little idea on how to do that. They took him out of a physically abusive situation, but they also (without realizing it) are sort of placing him into a situation where he is neglected. Also, keep in mind that Ethan doesn't talk very much, so he's not telling them what he wants either, so they are all sort of driving blind, in a way. This will be adressed in future chapters and it may, or may not, get a little worse before it gets better. **

**Anyways, onto the chapter...**

* * *

"Why not?" She asked, cautiously.

Sending this letter was the first step; the first step to her leaving him. The thought was oddly painful. He knew he liked her and would like her with him, but he never quite envisioned that she would wound him by leaving. Now that they were not on the run from the cops, he couldn't quite think of a 'good' reason for why she couldn't contact her mom.

"Because I said so. You're not sending this," he commanded. It was selfish, what he was doing. He knew that, but it was nothing new. He was always selfish.

"The hell I am!" She snapped. She was outraged that he had the audacity to give her any commands. Who the hell did he think he was? Anytime she had ever listened to him, it was her choice. She did what she wanted and she would continue to do what she wanted.

Elijah quietly slipped past them, without a word or even a sound, leaving the room.

Caroline watched him leave before speaking again. "It's to my mom. My _mom_," she emphasized. Her voice was calmer than the last time she spoke. If she had learned one thing, it was that yelling never worked with him. All it did was make him angry and unreasonable.

"You say that as though it is supposed to make a difference."

"It is!" She replied in exasperation.

"She works with the council, Caroline," he said in a warning tone. He was grasping at straws. Usually, he was better at this. "She will give you up. She wi—"

"You're trying to manipulate me," she realized, quickly. "Stop it."

He took a breath, surprised at her reaction. The last part came out strong, as though she was scolding him for his attempts.

She couldn't believe this was becoming an argument. Over a fucking letter! Unbelievable. "I miss her," she informed. "I miss _a lot_ of people." The memory of all the people she abandoned was crashing down on her and she felt her eyes grow heavy and watery. "I want to see them and I –"

"You can't see them!" He snapped. "You're staying with me. The sooner you learn to accept this, the easier this will be for you." His voice was angry. Hostile. Silently, he wondered how far he would go to keep her with him, should she make the choice to leave. She would hate him for forcing her to stay, wouldn't she? Would it matter, as long as she was with him?

Tears were starting to stream down her face. She wasn't sure why, but she couldn't control them. All those days of smiling when she felt like crying were finally crashing down on her and she found that she was losing the ability to think clearly. Her emotions were clouding her judgments. One of the worst parts of being a vampire: heightened emotions.

"So, you just want me to be with you – to be trapped, away from everyone that I love!?" She hissed at him, throwing the letter at him. He made no efforts to catch it and it fell to the floor. She gulped down a sob. "You already have me, what more do you want? I gave you me!" She yelled at him. She raised her hand up her body and then lowered it, showing him that he's had all of her.

His breathing hitched. "You think sex is what I wanted from you?" He backed away from her. This was an unexpected turn. Did she really think he was happy being her constant distraction, when things got too difficult? Something to get out of her system, when she couldn't face the reality in her life?

She whipped her tears with the back of her hand. If it wasn't for sex then…."Oh, I get it!" She announced as if she was a school girl that solved a math problem. "You wanted me to be yours – I get it, you want me to love you!"

This was escalating quickly and he wasn't entirely sure why. He took a few more steps back. Truthfully, he never expected her to love him. At most, he wanted her companionship. She didn't have to love him; she didn't have to sleep with him. He just wanted to be near her. He wouldn't dare tell her that, though.

She smiled bitterly. "You're fucking delusional." Her head was foggy and she wasn't sure exactly where all this bitterness was coming from. Anger, sadness, and worry were pumping through her veins all at once. "But I get it; you're angry. You're not pissed at the letter. You're pissed because I have people waiting for me – people that love me. You're pissed, because no one will ever – _ever_ – love you!"

It was then that he made a move towards her. It was quick. She gasped at how quickly she found herself backed up against the wall behind her. His hands rested at either side of her, his palms on the wall. He didn't touch her; he only trapped her. She could feel his erratic breathing and his eyes went red from anger.

"Mind your tongue, Caroline. My patience is far from infinite," he growled at her. He heard her gulp down her fears. Maybe sobs, he wasn't sure. He ignored it. "This is the one topic that is off limits, do you understand me?"

She said nothing, her vision almost completely flooded by her tears.

"You will not say something like that to me again. I will _never_ discuss this with you. Is that clear?"

His voice was the angriest she had ever heard, yet he wasn't yelling. She could tell his yell was barely suppressed and all she could do was nod, in response. She was angrier with him than she could explain, She was angry with him for trying to manipulate her, for trying to trap her with him. Did he really not care if she wanted that? What she wanted didn't matter to him, she understood.

And in one split second, her anger and her bitterness, it all changed.

He blinked.

He blinked and she saw it. She saw a tear come down his right cheek, slowly making its way to his red lips. It was in that split second that she realized what she had said, what she had done, and what her last words did to him. She bit her lower lip, now trying to become completely numb.

He could feel it; that stupid tear making its way down his face. He saw her expression shift from anger to sympathy and it became obvious that she saw it. He moved away from her, taking three or four steps backwards. Somehow, he found himself so exposed that he couldn't get himself to think of anything besides the loneliness she so obviously saw in him. The loneliness she was convinced he would forever live within.

He couldn't disprove what she said; it was true. He was to forever be the man no one would love. He didn't expect them to – at least not out of free will. He never did. Still, it was painful to hear. He clenched his jaw and swallowed his emptiness.

"Klaus, I—" she stuttered. "I shouldn't have –" before she could finish her sentence, he raised a hand to silence her and stormed out of the room.

She was alone in the room now, with his sadness still lingering around her. She couldn't move, still leaning against the wall he had pushed her to. Her tears began to form, along with her sobs, and it was beyond her control. She tried to contain them, but it was useless. _Stupid emotions_. All she could do was silence the sobs with her hands, pressing them into her quivering lips. She sat down on the floor, letting herself go. After two months on the run, smiling when she felt like crying and trying to suppress her sadness, she was releasing her emotions. She cried over everything; leaving the only place she had ever known, leaving her loved ones and missing them more than she could explain, her guilt over caring about Klaus, and now – to add to that list – her guilt over hurting him.

Hearing the sudden noise of a chair being pulled out, she looked up. Oh god, this was the last thing she needed.

Elijah stood in front of her. He looked down at her, as she sat on the floor, trying to recover from her breakdown.

She sniffed, saying nothing. He heard their whole fight, she was sure of it. She looked at him and he extended a hand towards her, saying nothing. She took it and he moved towards the couch.

She was going red from embarrassment, trapped between the walls of sadness and guilt. She fought back tears and quickly wiped the ones streaming down her face, trying to make herself comfortable on the couch.

"This hunter business," Elijah began. "It's extremely inconvenient."

She said nothing and so they were silent for a few moments.

"That is all that it is; an inconvenience. Not a grave threat – not for my family and I, at least." His voice was calm and controlled, with no anger behind it.

She said nothing, wondering what his point was. She knew the Originals couldn't be killed, so he wasn't telling her anything knew. Her tears were gone now and all that was left was guilt and a knot in her throat, from her crying, that caused her pain every time she swallowed.

"I need not remind you that an original cannot be killed."

She nodded. "Why are you telling me this?" She whispered the question, her voice still a little shaky.

"Niklaus, although concerned with his current position of powerlessness, has decided that your safety is his concern," he explained.

"You're saying that he's doing this for me…"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Through the years, we have been faced with a variety of different hunters. More often times than not, their attempts have ceased to work. Most hunters, with the exception of about five, were easily killed. Sometimes we would simply change locations, to avoid an unnecessary battle or further exposure. It was inconvenient."

_With the exception of about five…what the hell did that mean?_ She didn't ask.

"Given that the Connor is working with the council, it would be risking further exposure to simply go back to Mystic Falls and end his life." He explained. "That aside, Nik appears to be quite taken with you, Caroline. I'm surprised you are blind to this."

"I'm not," she replied quietly, diverting her gaze.

"He would like to be around you…in any capacity that you allow."

She widened her eyes. "He told you that?"

He shook his head lightly. "It's just a guess."

_That's it – I'm a horrible person. I'm ungrateful and mean,_ she thought to herself. She remained quiet, only giving Elijah a tight-lipped smile.

* * *

Caroline looked through the various rooms of the house, looking for Klaus. She couldn't find him. The only room left was the study. She knocked twice. There was no answer, but she could hear light movement inside, so she walked in.

She was met with the sight of Klaus draining a small glass of whiskey. The bottle next to him was half done. He was still in his white dress shirt and black pants, although they were no longer as crisp and clean as they were a few hours ago. His shoes were kicked off and put a few centimeters near his desk. He looked at her but said nothing, indicating that she had to speak first.

"I'm sorry," she told him. She was genuinely sorry.

He looked up and for a second it looked as though his sadness and anger had disappeared, and his look softened. It only lasted for a second, before he recovered and replaced the softness in his eyes with bitterness.

He got out of his chair, taking his bottle of whiskey with him. Raising his free hand to her face, he took hold of her chin, trapping it between his thumb and index finger. She didn't resist, moving her chin with his hand.

"Don't be," he said quietly. "You said nothing that I did not know to be truth already."

Releasing her chin, he walked out of the room, taking his half-empty bottle with him.

* * *

Caroline tossed in bed, guilt eating her alive. She was still angry at him for throwing commands at her, in the manner that he did. Still, she couldn't get the image of his wounded face out of her head. She wanted nothing more than to sooth him. She felt guilty for that – for wanting to comfort him. She shouldn't care, but she did. Elijah's talk with her made things worse, only because it made her care more.

"Elijah is staying in the room I was in…"

She turned her head to Klaus' voice. His words were a little slurred. Without a word, she scooted over, making room for him in her bed. He got in, not saying anything. The smell of alcohol was present between them.

"You're drunk…" her voice trailed off.

"Unfortunately, no," he responded. "After a thousand years, one builds up quite a tolerance." He turned to his side, facing away from her.

She watched him for a moment. His back was turned to her and the only movement she saw from him was the light rise and fall of his body as he breathed. "I'm sorry for what I said," she told him, breaking a tense silence.

"Stop apologizing, Caroline."

"I was upset and –"

"Caroline!" He barked, turning to her. He didn't mean to, it just happened. "Stop. Please." This, he said quieter, although each word was a warning. "It never happened. I don't wish to speak of it again," he told her. She said nothing, so he turned back to his side. "Send your letter, if you want. An email even…if you feel up to date with the latest technology," he mumbled into his pillow, drunkenly.

And that was it for the night. They rested in an uncomfortable darkness, until they drifted off into an equally uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

They were okay the next day. Klaus hadn't mentioned the fight and neither had she. Elijah had not said a word either. There was no awkwardness, surprisingly. Everything was like it was before. Well, almost everything. One thing changed.

Quite often, Klaus would "accidently" brush up against her. He would touch her fingers, when she passed him something. When opening the door for her, his hand would find a spot on her lower back, guiding her out. All of that stopped.

Caroline pretended as though there was no change, although they both knew there was. It shouldn't bother her, she concluded. She lied to herself and decided that it was always just sex, so of course all the affectionate touches were now gone. She missed them, despite telling herself that she shouldn't.

They were in the car now, driving down a small bumpy road, on their way to pick up Ethan from a tutoring lesson. The road was icy and there was light snow falling to the windshield.

Klaus drove, of course. His eyes were on the road, never once looking at her.

The only sound between them was the radio. She turned it off. He said nothing, so it was silent for a few more moments.

"Do you hear that?" She broke the silence between them. The car was making a noise.

"Mmm," was his only response. He stopped the car, parking on the side of the road. "Switch seats with me."

She complied, getting into the driver's seat. He came around to her side and searched for something under her seat. It was a box of tools, she guessed. He pulled up the hood of the car. She heard the sound of tools creaking against car parts, outside. A few long moments later, he went to the passenger's seat and sat down, fumbling through the tools in the box.

"It should be fine now," he informed, organizing the tools.

"So, you're a mechanic now, too?" She arched a brow.

He smiled. "Being around so long, I think I'm a little bit of everything." He pushed the tool box under the passenger's seat.

Before he could move, she moved herself into the passenger's seat and onto his lap. He tensed, but she ignored it. For a moment, she hoped that they were better now. Back to how they were yesterday. Her hands came to either side of his neck, the thumb of her right hand moving up and down, softly.

His thoughts flashed to images of her naked body; the curve of her bum, the fullness of her chest, the arch of her back. He looked away from her eyes and the fire they ignited in him. He couldn't let himself go there. Not now. He swallowed his want down and buried it. He could feel her soft lips on his neck as she slid closer to the seam of his jeans, making his thoughts harder to suppress. He placed both hands on her waist, pushing her away lightly. Either she couldn't feel it, or she was ignoring it.

"Caroline," he whispered. Her lips were on his skin and his eyes closed from the sensation, a sensation he had every intention of stopping. "Caroline, stop."

She moved away from the warmth of his skin and her hands gravitated to the buttons of his jacket. "What? We have time."

He placed a hand over hers and moved her hand away from the buttons. "Don't."

He didn't just stop the innocent, affectionate, contact between them. He stopped all physical contact. "You don't want to," she voiced her realization, her voice laced with the hurt of rejection. "I'm guessing it's not just because you don't like car sex—"

He hurt her. The look of rejection flaming in her eyes spoke volumes. He didn't mean to. "What you said, the other night –"

"I said something stupid," she interrupted.

"You said something that told me that_ this_ isn't what you want."

"I thought you said you weren't mad."

"I'm not," he assured her. He wasn't mad at her for voicing the truth. He was upset at how she intentionally set out to hurt him, using something like that against him, but he managed to suppress it.

"Then what is it?"

He hesitated, not able to find the words to really explain it to her. Would she understand if he told her that just sex wasn't something he was willing to settle for – especially not after her little outburst? What if it was sex, or nothing? Was he then giving up the only thing she was willing to give him? Surely, her heart was not up for the taking. He opened his mouth to speak, although he hadn't a clue what he was going to say.

Before a word could form, he was interrupted by a loud bang. It was followed by a flying bullet that punctured the back and front window of their car. With a scared scream, Caroline found shelter in his chest. His arms came around her, protectively. He turned to see what was happening. He couldn't see the person's face, but he could see a black mini-van quickly making its way to them.

"Shit," he yelled out, as the second bullet punctured the car.

Without a thought, Caroline pushed herself away from him and slipped into the driver's seat.

"Caroli—"

She knew he was going to protest her taking the wheel. She hissed at him to be quiet and started the car.

The tires screeched at how quickly they drove off, with the black car still following them.

* * *

**I hope you guys aren't too angry with Caroline. Think of it this way: she is away from from everyone she loves and Klaus was telling her that she couldn't contact her own mother. In addition, she also has these growing feelings for Klaus that she doesn't know what to do with and she feels guilty, knowing that her friends won't approve. Oh, and she also has an 8 year old kid on her shoulders that she has no idea how to interact with (altho this will be adressed more in later chapters). There is a lot for her to deal with, so she kind of snapped and took it out on Klaus, a little bit. I hope you guys can give her a break lol. It will eventually get better for these two.**

**Please, please, please, leave a review for me! I would really like to know your thoughts on this chapter and on the story as a whole. If there is something you don't like, feel free to share that as well! **


	14. The Key

**Oh my gosh, you guys, thank you so much for all of your reviews on the last chapter! I am so, so happy that you liked it and took the time to tell me. Saying that I appreciate it doesn't even begin to cover it!**

**And so here is chapter 14. I hope you guyes enjoy it!**

* * *

Caroline drove past a stop sign, nearly getting hit by a passing car. Everything around her was starting to blur, as a result of her fear. She could hear Klaus muttering foul words under his breath, but she was too preoccupied to figure them out. The black car was still behind them, although no longer shooting bullets at them. Only because he couldn't get a good angle, she guessed. She pressed on the gas.

"Caroline!" Klaus shouted at her. "This car is a fucking piece of crap. Press the pedal any harder and it will break right under you!"

For a moment, she was completely thrown off by his language. She had heard him use coarse language before, but this was stated quite differently than anything he has ever said. Quite unlike him, she thought. She glanced over at him and he was fighting himself; trying not to place his hands on the steering wheel.

"If you had let me drive earlier, I would have known that!" She hissed at him.

"That is precisely why I didn't let you drive!" He looked behind him, trying to figure out what was happening. The windows of the black car were too dark, he could barely see anything. The dirty windows of their car didn't help in the slightest "He's going to aim for the tires," he stated. It was a guess. That's what he would do, at least. "Make a turn," he commanded.

The wheels of the car screeched as she turned sharply to her left. It was so sharp that she could swear the car tilted and for a split second one of the wheels were off the ground. She gasped as the thought of the car turning over passed through her mind.

"Shit, not like that!" He growled at her. He gripped onto the inner handle of the door, to avoid lifting out of his seat.

"Oh, just shut up!" She barked back at him. "Be happy you're not dead yet, or fatally injured with a bullet wound."

_That's it!_ "Stop the car."

She sped up, despite his request – or command, to be more accurate. "What? Are you crazy!?"

"Stop the car," he said again, his hands gravitating to the steering wheel, not yet taking hold of it.

Her eyes widened. "He'll kill – "

"Have I not made perfectly clear that I cannot be killed?" He snapped, annoyed that she wouldn't listen to him.

"Yes, but I can!"

"I won't let him."

Normally this would assure her, but their situation did not exactly breed confidence. "Oh, right, like you – "

"Caroline, just stop the bloody car!" He placed a hand on the wheel and turned it, despite Caroline's resistance. She kept her foot on the pedal and they ran off the street, onto an alleyway. She pressed on the breaks about two seconds before they would have hit the brick wall in front of them and he instinctively flinched, preparing himself for the collision.

The turn was so abrupt that the car behind them kept going, unable to turn at the same time they did. He would turn around, however. Caroline knew it. It was just a matter of time, before he caught up to them. She watched Klaus exhale a deep breath and place his hand on the door of the car, ready to get out. "What are you doing?"

"Run," he told her.

"What? No!"

"He's likely to kill you, if you stay. Run."

He said nothing after that, only got out of the car, leaving her behind. She waited for a second, somewhat frozen, before getting out. By the time she got out, the black car was right behind theirs and she wasn't about to just leave Klaus there, with no back up.

The man got out of the car. He wasn't Connor. It was a tall, built, pale-skinned male. His hair was dark brown, his lips thin, his chin pointy, and his eyes filled with rage.

Caroline squinted her eyes, the light snow falling to her lashes. She fearfully prepared for the loud sound of gunfire, as she saw the man point his gun at Klaus. She opened them, hearing the bullet fly by her.

_What the hell?_

She blinked, confused and looked at Klaus. "Did you just dodge a flying bullet?" She asked.

He said nothing, responding with only a glance and a slight nod. He smiled at the man in front of him. "Care to try that again?" He asked. His response meant they got their reflexes back.

She smiled, feeling a little relieved. It appeared they were getting the upper hand, at least a little bit. The man fired at Caroline and she dodged the bullet almost as easily as Klaus did. By the time she stood back up and found Klaus, he was making his way to the man – vampire speed. They got not only their reflexes back, but their speed too – maybe the witches were looking out for them. A happy giggle escaped her, knowing she was safe now – they were safe.

Klaus took hold of the man, effortlessly. The man squirmed under his hold, but it was no use, seeing as Klaus' strength was back. This was amazing – exhilarating, even. He grabbed the gun out of the man's grasp and threw it to Caroline, who caught it with ease and slipped it into her back pocket.

"Funny isn't it, how life works out sometimes?" Klaus smiled, with his arm still firmly around the man's neck. "Two minutes ago, we were running away like cowards and now…well, now's a different story."

"Go to hell," the man hissed. "You can kill me, but you can't kill all of us."

"Oh, there are more of you?" Klaus took note. "Well, that's intriguing."

Caroline walked over, slipping her hand into the man's side pocket. "Keys," she listed everything she took out. "Gum…spare change – you should really keep that in your wallet," she suggested as she continued fumbling through his pocket. Pulling out a piece of paper, she unfolded it. "A receipt from The Grill."

"Mystic Falls…so you're with the council."

"And you're going after us, which means the council is specifically targeting us," Caroline realized. "Why us and not anyone else?" Did he even know that half of Mystic Falls consisted of vampires and other supernatural? She wasn't about to tell him, but the question crossed her mind.

There was a long pause.

"Well, answer her," Klaus pressed, his voice devilish. There was no response, so he tightened his grip on the man's neck. "The lady asked you a question, mate."

"They know," the man replied, his voice raspy from the lack of air to his lungs. He was going red, revealing just how human he was.

"Know what?" She asked.

"That the witches have conspired against you. You're easy targets."

"How would they know that?" Klaus voiced his question out loud.

"I don't know," the man claimed. He was now trembling with sincere terror.

Klaus contemplated trying to drag more information out of him, but he was doubtful that it would be of any use. It was more likely to be a waste of time. He sighed. "Well then, I suppose you're useless to us now."

"Klaus don't – " Caroline yelled out, but it was too late. She watched as Klaus effortlessly snapped the man's neck and his body started to lose its life in klaus' arms.

There was blood oozing out of him, flowing from the wound. It flowed beautifully through the cracks of the pavement, next to his feet.

Caroline was somewhat fearful at how quickly and effortlessly Klaus ended the man's life. Over the last few months, she hadn't quite seen this side of him; the ruthless side. She had grown accustomed to seeing the more gentle and caring side of him. Perhaps, the side she had grown accustomed to was a façade. She quickly grew uncomfortable at the thought. She took a step forward, making her way closer to Klaus. His expression was numb and the rise and fall of his chest matched with hers. She watched him carefully, not quite sure what they had to do now. They would have to get rid of the body, of course, but where?

He could smell it. The blood. He could almost taste it. He could imagine the sensation of drinking from the vein; feeling the warm blood make its way down his throat. He could vividly remember the feeling of control he experienced as he drank directly from the victim, controlling his intake and feeling the life draining out of his prey, the pulse slowly dropping. The blood bags, while effective for the means of survival, did not give him the same satisfaction as the hunt. He missed the hunt. He missed the vein.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked quietly, watching him. He didn't reply, so she continued watching. She crinkled her brows at what he did next. Surely she was not seeing things correctly. This wasn't happening.

She watched him run his index finger to the wound on the neck. Slowly, he ran the finger across his lips, painting them with the blood, before licking his finger. She called his name again and this time he turned to look at her. She took a step back from the sight of his yellow eyes, lacking any and all emotion she had once seen in them. She swallowed a gulp of air, growing fearful – not of him, but at what he was doing. It was as though he was in a trance, fixated on only the blood. She couldn't understand. She saw him drinking from a blood back earlier that day. He wasn't deprived of blood. She couldn't get herself to speak. Her breathing slowed and all she could do was watch. Watch his monstrous eyes glaring back at her.

She blinked. She kept them closed, hoping that once she opened them he wouldn't be feeding and they would figure out what to do next. She opened them and that hope quickly vanished.

He was feeding.

For a moment, she wondered if they got their fangs back. She tried to get hers to emerge, but she couldn't. And then she realized that he was drinking from the vein, without his fangs. She grew more horrified at the sight, placing a hand over her mouth. She watched, still unable to get herself to look away. It was not blood deprivation that caused this reaction from him, but the insatiable need that he had to drink from the vein, as apposed to a blood bag.

And then it got worse. She could feel herself caving into the bloodlust. Red colored her eyes and she wanted nothing more than to join him in the heaven he was creating for himself. She reluctantly took a step forward, closer to the blood. _No, _she told herself_. _She closed her eyes, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath. The veins under her eyes slowly vanished, although the craving for blood remained.

"Stop," she said quietly, although she was almost certain that it was useless.

He pulled away from the blood, tilting his head as though he was in ecstasy. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and a small smile left him. His eyes were still closed, keeping him enfolded in his own heaven. He ran his thumb across his lips, getting rid of the drop in the corner of his mouth and bringing his tongue to it.

Without him saying a word, she watched him bring the man into the black car.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, her voice clearly angry and judgmental.

"Now is not the time to be emotional, Caroline," he said, calmly.

She scoffed in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right? You just killed him and then - "

"Better he die than you and I," he mumbled under his breath, dragging the man into the car and searching his pockets. Caroline said nothing after his reply, so he closed the door of the man's car and walked over to their run-down car. He opened the passenger door and gestured for Caroline to get in.

"You're just leaving him?" She asked, remaining in her spot, a few steps away from their car and facing him.

"I could bury him, but I'm not feeling up for it. Besides, Ethan is waiting." She stayed in place, only raising her brows, so he continued. "We're leaving in a few hours. By the time anyone realizes he's dead, we will be long gone."

She got in the car, with only a sigh. Her eyes followed him as he came around to the driver's seat.

He had taken the man's ID and was looking through it. The man's name was Lewis and he appeared to have no connection to Connor, aside from the fact that they were both vampire hunters – incompetent ones, at that. He put it in his pocket and ran his hands along the steering wheel.

"First thing we're doing when we get to France is picking out a quality car," he announced quietly.

This was unbelievable, Caroline thought. He was not in the least bit phased by anything that had happened. He killed a man, without a second thought. She understood why, yes. That is not what bothered her. What bothered her is the ruthlessness behind his actions. She had so successfully diluted herself into believing that his past offences did not exist and now, with this, they all came crashing down on her, becoming harder to ignore. She glanced at him; his features light and his eyes so beautifully blue and tinted with a gorgeous green. He was beautiful. A beautiful monster, that is.

"Something is wrong," he said quietly as they drove. Their silence was now broken, his worried voice slicing through their silent tension. "How do you feel?" He asked Caroline.

"Fine," she replied simply.

"I can't smell your perfume," he told her. He knew she was wearing it. He smelled it when they were in the car together, before everything happened. Granted she was closer to him then, but still.

"Okay." She creased her brows at the odd statement, not giving it much thought.

He fixated his eyes on the various different drivers on the road; a young man staring intently at the road ahead, an older man casually bobbing his head to the radio, a woman attempting to tame a loose strand of hair. His eyes went back to the man listening to the radio.

"Do you see that man? He's listening to music." He pointed to a dark green Toyota and switched lanes, bringing them closer to the car. "Tell me what song he's listening to."

Still somewhat angry, she had half a mind to tell him to figure it out himself, but she knew he had a point to whatever he was talking about. She concentrated on the car, trying to hear the music. She couldn't. She couldn't hear it.

"I can't hear it," she said quietly, realizing that they no longer had their hearing abilities.

Smell…she remembered his comment about not smelling her perfume. She loved the smell of his body wash, always noticing it when he was close to her. She concentrated on the familiar smell, but couldn't smell it. She was too far away from him. "It's gone," she realized. "Everything we got back, it's gone now." _As if this day couldn't get any worse._

Suddenly, the car made a violent move to the left and a series of cars proceeded to honk at them. She held onto the door, to avoid shifting in her seat. "What the hell, Klaus!" Right, she was the bad driver… They were at the side of the road now and she watched Klaus get out of his seat, the car still running. The door slammed behind him and she shifted in her seat, her eyes following him.

Taking a deep breath, Klaus placed both of his palms at the bottom of the car and prepared to lift. He knew that minutes ago, this would have been possible. His strength was back, minutes ago. It was why he so easily killed that no-good hunter. He pushed up, but the car failed to move. He tried again and the only result was a strained muscle that quickly recovered.

"Fuck," he muttered angrily, his palm hitting the hood of the car. "Why is this happening?" He asked, with his voice somewhat desperate. He wasn't speaking to anyone in particular, although he hoped those god-forsaken witches would hear him and give him some sort of fucking clue.

They just got almost everything back…everything short of their fangs and compulsion (although maybe, they got that back too. They hadn't tested it, and now they would never know). And now…now, it was gone. All of it. They had to start all over again.

* * *

"Elijah," Klaus called out as they walked into the house.

Ethan quietly slipped past Klaus and Caroline, making his way to his room.

"Pack your things, Ethan," Caroline told him. "We're leaving in a few hours."

He kept walking, saying nothing in response.

Elijah emerged out of the kitchen, holding a cup of tea. "What's the matter?" He asked, noticing the angry expression painted on his brother's face.

"Well, for one thing, you failed to mention that the there is more than one hunter in Mystic Falls and they are tracking my every move."

"I wasn't aware of this," Elijah defended himself. "Last time I checked, it was just Connor and the council."

"Yes, well, it only gets worse. I need a witch," he said.

Elijah glanced down at Caroline, who was quietly standing next to Klaus.

"We got our powers back," she explained to him. "And then we lost them."

"It appears the witches are attempting to make this into some twisted practical joke and I need to talk to at least one of them," Klaus explained. He was desperate now. Two - almost three - months ago, he was certain that this wouldn't last long. He was certain they couldn't do this to him. Now, he was growing less and less certain, worried that they were in fact able to grant his powers back and then take it away at any moment. He needed to find a way to fix this and he needed a witch to tell him how, he concluded.

* * *

Caroline and Klaus stopped at the sight of a small house. It was an ordinary house, just like any one else's. The only odd thing was that there were no other houses around it, just land. It stood out like a sore thumb.

Klaus knocked on the door. Even his knock made it clear that he was angry.

The door opened momentarily.

"I'd like you to invite me in," he told the olive-skinned woman in front of him. She seemed to be fearless. That was a mistake, he thought.

Caroline cleared her throat, uncomfortable by his bluntness. "Elijah said that we could talk to you," she explained. Her voice was soft and quiet, unlike Klaus'.

"Come in," she replied quietly, stepping aside. She knew she would be able to take both of them out, if she needed to. In other words, she had nothing to fear.

The two of them walked in. A candle lit at the far corner of the room and Caroline looked at it, confused. She glanced at Klaus, who didn't so much as bat an eyelash.

"You're Niklaus," The woman voiced her realization. She turned to look at the candle, as though it offered her reinforcement. "You're here because you want your powers back. I'm afraid I can't help you."

She turned away from him, so Klaus hooked her by the elbow and brought her to face him. "Funny thing," he began with a dangerous smile and a rising irritation. "I got them back and then they disappeared. Why might that be?"

The woman was starting to become more fearful, although she remained in perfect control of her breathing, her fear never escaping her. She silently reminded herself that she had the magical power to force them out of her home, if she needed to. She felt no need for it yet. "Your lips are laced with blood," she said.

"The powers were taken away because he fed?" Caroline asked, before Klaus could speak.

"Because he killed," the woman corrected. Her eyes met Klaus' with the same confidence, and a newly ignited dislike. This Klaus was so unlike his brother in the way he handled things.

"He was going to kill us," Klaus defended his actions, releasing the woman from his grip. He did so rather forcefully, making her take a few steps back to regain her balance.

"The witches were looking out for you," she explained. "You were granted your speed back, were you not? Your strength as well." Neither of them said anything, so she explained. "You could have run. You chose to kill him, instead. It was a test, if you will."

The witches were looking out for them. He could just laugh at the thought; it was absolutely ridiculous. His eyes grew darker and his smirk became more dangerous. Raising a hand, he placed it tightly over her neck. She gasped, giving him a feeling of satisfaction. "Good," he smiled. "You're finally scared. Rightfully so."

Caroline grew very tense, unsure of what Klaus was about to do. She wasn't used to this – not anymore. Over the past few months, he had been so kind and wonderful. Looking at him now, it all felt like a lie. This wasn't who she saw the last few months. But, _this_ was the real him. This was the Klaus that loved to watch fear dancing in the eyes of others, exhibiting his control over them. He was like a different person. The difference between who she was seeing now and the man he was when they were alone together was like black and white. Somehow, she felt betrayed, feeling as though the last few months of seeing this 'other side' to him was just a lie; a feeling of nostalgia, maybe. This was the real him and she was quickly starting to hate herself for deluding herself into believing that this part of him no longer existed. She should have known better.

"You're going to tell me what I have to do in order to get everything back – everything that belongs to me," he said. With his hand still on the witch's neck, he guided her to a nearby wall, pressing into her neck so that she would soon be gasping for air.

"I can't do that," the witch croaked out.

"Tell me!" He yelled, loudly. The walls of the room practically shook with his yell.

"Stop it!" Caroline shouted at Klaus. "Stop hurting her!"

Klaus glared at Caroline. Judging by her expression and the knowledge that he had already given her reason to revert to her old treatment of him, he knew not listening to her now would have grander repercussions than he was willing to deal with. He slowly released his grip on the woman's neck.

The witch hugged her neck with her fingers, soothingly. She, unlike most witches, did not hate all vampires. She was aware that, like with any other race of species, there was both good and bad. What she couldn't understand was why someone as good as the blonde vampire in front of her was trapped in the same predicament as the ruthless hybrid whose hands were tightly wrapped around her neck, only moments ago. And then something occurred to her. She wasn't entirely certain of what motives the witches had when causing these two supernatural creatures to fall under this spell, but one thing was clear. She was certain of it. She looked from Caroline to Klaus, slowly giving herself time to assure herself of her realization.

Looking at Klaus, she raised her index finger and softly pointed it towards Caroline.

"She is your key," she said.

* * *

**Okay, so there it is - I hope you liked it! **

**A little bit of an overreaction on Caroline's part over the feeding, but it will be resolved in the next chapter. Remember that everything is always more intense when you're in the moment and sometimes you just need a second to cool off and think things over.**

** Please leave reviews and let me know your thoughts. I love reading it all, of course!**

**Also, follow my klaroline tumblr, if you like i-enjoy-you**


	15. A Perfect Box

**You guys, seriously thank you so much for the reviews! I can't even begin to explain how much I love reading what you guys have to say. You all are amazing. I actually went through a few people's profiles and you all are such amazing writers and I can't understand what you're doing reading this fic when you guys write things that are a 1000000000x better. But here you guys are and you're enjoying it and it actually makes me so fricken happy!**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! **

* * *

Klaus's eyes found Caroline and he slowly looked at her, his eyes moving from her head to her toes. His eyes finally meeting hers, he shot her a confused look and she mirrored it. He turned back to the witch.

"She's the key – what about her?" He probed. The witch said nothing. "Her happiness with me?" He asked, knowing that Caroline was unhappy with how he handled the hunter. Perhaps, regaining his powers had to do with gaining her acceptance. "If this has to do with her perception of me, then I will never –"

"I cannot tell you any more," the witch interrupted. Her voice was calm.

Just then, an even more horrific thought crossed his mind. "If you tell me that this has to do with something ridiculous, like love, then I'm afraid I may have to snap your neck," he warned. He and love were not compatibale, he believed.

The witch raised her chin, quickly replying. "I will not tell you anything at all."

"You will," he said. His tone carried a silent 'or else'.

"I cannot," she said, with her voice becoming more irritated. "I don't know why this has happened. What I said should not be taken as an answer to your problems. It was merely a guess. And I will have you know that I do not respond kindly to threats."

"And on what grounds would you make such a guess?" Klaus asked, ignoring her last remark.

"On the grounds that a vampire like her would never be stripped of her powers, unless there is a connection between her and the intended target."

"The intended target, meaning me," he understood. He had never before entertained the possibility that Caroline was in this situation because of him. Quite frankly, he had not quite placed blame on anyone, in regards to their circumstances, so to have someone point the finger at him was a little unsettling.

"I really cannot say more. I do not know more," the witch explained.

After a few more lines of back and forth, the witch still had not revealed more. Deciding that they had gotten as much information out of the witch as they could, they turned to leave.

* * *

Once getting back, Caroline quickly left to her room. Not only had she not even started packing, but she was in no mood to talk to Klaus. He made no attempts to go after her, staying to talk to Elijah instead, discussing Elijah going back to Mystic Falls to see how the hunter business was going.

She told herself that she was happy he did not go after her, not wanting to explain the many reasons that she was angry. Still, she knew that no matter how much she wanted time away from him, she was also somewhat upset that her being angry did not elicit any reaction from him. Did he not care, at all? Regardless of her mixed feelings, her moments alone didn't last long. She soon heard Klaus make his way up the stairs and she quickly hopped into her bed. As she did this, she scolded herself for her own immaturity. _What happened to talking things out?_ She asked herself. He would make her talk about it eventually. She knew that. She just didn't feel like doing this now. Truthfully, she wanted some time to think things over on her own, before talking to him about anything. So, she hid under the covers of her bed, as though she was a child, pretending to be asleep. _Immature_, she thought to herself one final time.

Klaus walked into her room, quietly. She was silent, and the only noise he heard was the sound of his own shoes against the hardwood floors of her room. He saw her on the bed, under the covers. He walked over to the bed, sitting down on the edge, so that he could see her face. Her eyes were closed.

"I know you're not sleeping," he informed, softly. She said nothing, so he explained. "You have a little snore, when you sleep." She didn't snore, but he guessed this might get her to at least smile. He knew better than to believe she was taking a nap, only an hour before they had to leave. She hadn't even packed yet, so sleeping was out of the equation. He glanced over to her opened closet, seeing a few clothes on the floor and some draped over her suitcase.

_Well, there goes my unbelievably stupid plan_. She opened her eyes. "I do not snore."

He smiled. "How would you know? You can't hear yourself when you sleep."

She said nothing.

He sighed at her silence. "I know you're unhappy with me, right now," he let her know. His voice was tender and soft, almost a whisper. "I should have pulled you aside and talked to you about everything, but it's been an eventful day. I'm not particularly skilled at navigating my way through the unspoken rules of a relationship."

"We're not in a relationship."

He smiled, softly. "I'm afraid we are. I believe any interaction between two people constitutes a relationship of some sort."

She couldn't quite argue with that, so she kept quiet. She kept her pillow trapped between her hand and her head. She squeezed it, lightly. She felt him run his hand up and down her leg, causing warmth to shot through her body. _Do not cave_, she told herself.

"You're upset because I killed the man working with Connor," he said.

"That's not the only reason." Actually, it wasn't the reason at all. It wasn't the kill that bothered her, but how that kill triggered her memory of all his past offences; wanting to use her in the sacrifice, killing Jenna, wanting to use Elena as a walking blood bag, and that wasn't even all of it.

"For loosing my temper with the witch," he continued to list his offenses, none of which he thought were too horrendous.

"For lying to me," she explained, softly.

"I haven't lied to you," he said with confidence.

She turned to look at him, finally. "You spent months putting on this act, acting like you're so nice and wonderful. It worked; I believed it. I almost forgot that you're actually a sociopath who has been faking everything since we first left Mystic Falls."

She got out of bed. Now that she knew pretending to sleep didn't work with him, she might as well finish her packing.

He was almost offended. "I haven't faked anything," he defended himself, his brows risen.

She smiled, masking her anger – the anger that she felt for allowing herself to get swept off her feet by the kindness he extended towards her. "Oh, please. You can drop the nice guy act, now that you showed your true colors."

"Why are you under the impression that it's an either/or type of deal?" He asked. "The last few months – none of that was fake or deceitful. I haven't lied to you once. It was _me_, Caroline. Just as the person you saw today, that is _me_."

She packed up her sweaters, avoiding eye contact as he remained on the bed. "So, what you're saying is that you are both the good and bad guy, all in one package?"

He hesitated. "Something like that, I suppose." He got up and handed her a few of the clothes she had left on the bed. "Sometimes, one more than the other."

She took them. "Do you feel bad?" She asked, not yet looking at him.

He raised his brows. "For killing the hunter?" _This can't be a serious question_, he thought to himself.

"No, it's not about the hunter, Klaus." She said, growing somewhat aggravated that he couldn't understand that the hunter – to her, in that moment - represented all the bad he had done. "Do you feel bad for wanting to kill me?"

Oh, that was a relatively easy question to answer. He was preparing for worse. "I'm aware that it would have been a mistake, yes. I'm glad I didn't," he told her.

"What about for killing Jenna?" She continued packing.

Jenna served a purpose. Truthfully, if he knew that some odd months down the line Caroline would use this as an excuse to push him away, he would have used a different vampire – one with no connection to her, one that could be more easily forgotten. So, in a way, he did feel bad for killing Jenna – but not in the way that Caroline needed him to feel bad.

He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it. He wondered if, perhaps, his answer might completely push her away. The possibility of losing her made him worry. It was funny, he thought. It was funny, only because she had made it perfectly clear that she wasn't his to lose. So, why was he scared of losing something that he didn't have? He let out a sigh and a hesitant smile, showing his discomfort. "You're not going to like my answer, Caroline."

"Of course I'm not!" She confirmed, her voice raised. "That's the point."

"I thought we were over this," he hastened to reply.

"Yeah, well, we were, and then it all came back to me," she explained. "You'll forgive me for not being a fan of your sociopathic nature. I don't like that side of you." She looked at him and suddenly his look shifted. Again, it was as though he flipped a switch; turning away from any vulnerability that was there minutes ago.

"Too bad, Caroline," he snapped. His voice was cold. "Too bad, because I refuse to abide by your moral compass; your ideas of what is right and wrong." He placed the sweater that he was holding on her bed, in a manner that deceived her into believing he was much calmer than he actually was. He sighed, trying not to raise his voice. "I will do a lot of things for you, love, but I will not turn myself inside-out, trying to fit into this perfect box you have constructed for me."

She looked at him, not saying a word. He looked at her with a burning intensity and darkening eyes. His anger at her was palpable, practically slapping her across the face. She stopped packing, becoming trapped within his angry expression.

"It's all or nothing. You cannot pick apart all the parts of me that you like and throw out the rest." He could see her eyes becoming more sympathetic as he spoke. He wasn't expecting that. He was expecting that his words would make her angrier. He kept going, wanting to bring her attention to one last truthful detail. "I have never – nor, would I ever – do that to _you_."

And with that, he walked out of the room, leaving her alone to pack the rest of her things. She picked up the sweater he had left for her on the bed. He was right; she couldn't just pick and choose, and she didn't want to. She wasn't so much angry with him and his actions, as she was with herself. She didn't care that he wouldn't mold himself into a perfect person, but she did care that she allowed herself to get blinded by his kindness towards her. She felt torn, for a moment, between wanting to tell him that she knew he was right and wanting to continue her self-loathing. She stayed in her room, her eyes occasionally gravitating towards the door he had left open.

* * *

Caroline discovered later that night that the Mikaelson family actually had a private jet. She wasn't entirely certain why it surprised her; she knew they had all the money in the world. Still, her mouth gaped open as she made her way inside. The interior was beige leather, with a series of large windows. The seats were paired and positioned across from each other, with an eating table in between. Raising her index finger, she counted a total of 12 seats. _Must be nice to be able to afford the world,_ she thought to herself. Picking a seat close to a window, she sat down.

Ethan walked past her, with an expression of equal shock and sat down a few seats behind her. There was a computer next to the seat he had chosen for himself and he was looking through a few available movie DVDs that could be watched. Klaus walked up to him and looked through the DVD's. He took out a few that he deemed inappropriate for his eyes and dropped them on the table in front of Caroline.

Caroline looked at them and was surprised by the one at the very top of the pile. "Pretty Woman?" She looked at Klaus. Her eyes were widened and her lips curved, emphasizing her feelings of amusement and surprise.

He looked at where her eyes were and sat down in front of her, placing his left leg over his right. "Actually, I think Kol left that here," he let her know. It may have been Rebekah, but she hadn't used the jet, to his knowledge.

"Wasn't he daggered when this was released?"

"He's catching up on all he's missed, it seems."

She shrugged. "Must suck to just miss so much, to just be asleep for so many years and then come back…and everything is different."

He didn't like where she was going with this. It appeared that she was in the mood to draw up all his wrongdoings today. "I suppose," he replied with caution. He would have told her that he daggered them for the good of their family, but he really wasn't in the mood for the argument that might have started. She said nothing in response, so he stayed quiet. Better silence than a fight, he concluded.

Now being in the air, she glanced out the window next to her. For a moment she thought about the world and how much of it she had yet to see. It was overwhelming to think of how much nature there was to see, how many cities. She was almost thankful that she had eternity, because she wanted to see everything and it couldn't possibly fit into one lifetime. Selfishly, she almost felt lucky. She tried to brush those selfish thoughts away, knowing that one should never be thankful for being a vampire.

"It's pretty," she said, her eyes still on the view outside.

He followed her gaze. "It is."

They were silent for a few minutes and her mind drifted to their earlier argument. She found that she had cooled off, a little bit. Her feelings of anger were somewhat overshadowed with her feelings of guilt, for making him think that she wanted to change him. She wasn't appreciative of her guilt, not feeling as though she had anything to feel this guilty for. After all, he wasn't exactly innocent in all of this.

"You're wrong, you know," she said quietly. She was tired of the awkwardness between them and his cautious approach to talking to her, as though he was nervous that anything he said may trigger an argument.

"About what?" He asked.

"I have no intention of making you fit into any perfect box," she informed. She looked at him, brushing her hair behind her ear. His expression mirrored her softness and he appeared completely taken aback by her words.

Surprised at the statement, he only nodded in acceptance.

"I wasn't really mad at you…I was more mad at me." She took a breath, knowing she had to explain the statement. "It's just that you were so...nice I forgot about everything that happened before we had to leave…I forgot that you could be…well…you."

He hid behind a smile, for a second. He didn't appreciate her trying to categorize him as either 'good' or 'bad'. What if he was neither? "You're making this black and white again, Caroline. There's more than just your definitions of 'bad' and 'good'. There is more to anyone – including me – than just those two sides."

"I know," she assured him. "I do, I know that."

He tensed, slightly. "And if I may mention this, I think there is a bigger problem than just you forgetting my past. There is something that happened today and I think that it scared you more than anything you have mentioned."

She gulped down, staying silent, allowing him to continue.

"You enjoyed our little game with the dimwitted hunter," he reminded her. "Dodging bullets, searching his pockets, having the upper hand. You enjoyed all of it. Even the car chase may have given you a rush."

"I didn't want him to die," she let him know in a stern tone.

"I have no doubt that you didn't want him to die. I will assume responsibility for his death," he replied, effortlessly. "But you enjoyed the power you had over him, before his death. You enjoyed the game." He took a breath, knowing the next words out of his mouth could land him in a sticky situation, as it was likely to be a sensitive topic for her. Still, he continued. "When I fed, you wanted to as well."

_How did he notice?_ "I don't drink from the vein."

"I know. But, you want to and that scares you more than anything I could have done."

She hadn't quite thought about it like that, but now that he mentioned it she saw the truth behind his words. She had entertained the thought of feeding from the vein multiple times, even before she saw him feed. She stuttered her way into a reply. "I don't want to hurt people," she said. This was making her uneasy and tense.

"And it is safe to assume that this is exactly why you do not drink from the vein; you fear causing physical pain." He took a moment to analyze her expression. She had said nothing to him, but her eyes told him that he was right. He was right and she knew it. "Perhaps, because you were fed on as a human," he said with a delicate caution.

Her breathing slowed and, now more than before, she became uncomfortable. She fought the urge to move her hand to the scar on her neck – one that she had covered with make up earlier that day. She pursed her lips, saying nothing.

"I would like to mention that you don't have to hurt them to feed on them," he pointed out. She still said nothing and the look she gave him made him quickly realize something. "You didn't know that, did you?" He shook his head in disbelief. "It was Stefan that taught you, wasn't it? All he taught you was the blood bag and the animal diet, isn't it?"

"I don't need to know anything else," she replied, confidently.

"I'm afraid you do. There is a lot you don't know." An idea came to his head and a small smile formed on his lips. "We'll get everything back, eventually. I'll teach you."

She scoffed. "No, thanks."

He smiled, knowing she would change her mind. He wouldn't allow her to live an eternity of suppressing her desires and denying herself the joys associated with vampirism. He would teach her about the thrills of it all; the hunt, feeding from the vein, the high – all of it. He would teach her to feed without inflicting pain, if that is something she wanted to learn. Suppressing the silent promise, he replied with three words that would allow her to think this was the end of their discussion on this topic. "As you wish," he said. What he really meant was that one day, she would love who she is and he would make sure of that.

"Is it safe to assume you have a house in France, too?" She asked, deciding that a change of topic was needed.

He smiled. "Not a house."

"Not an abandoned church, I hope."

"Not even close, love." His smile widened and she hesitantly replied with a smile of her own. "I assure you, you're going to love it," he said.

* * *

**I really hope you guys liked this chapter and I explained Caroline's reaction to Klaus' feeding a little better than in the last chapter. Two things that I want to mention about this chapter: **

**1) I've always made the assumption that Caroline was never properly taught to feed from the vein because Stefan is pro bunny diet and we have seen that Caroline lives off blood bags. Anyways, Klaus is now set on eventually teaching her to feed from the vein. I just want to stress that he has no intention of making her go dark. His only wants to get her to be happy with being a vampire. Plus he has another reason for wanting to teach her and that will be revealed later in the fic. **

**2) There is more to what the witches have done. I know the witch in this chapter hasn't revealed more than "she is the key", but there is more. **

**Okay, so that is all for now. Again, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please leave reviews and let me know your thoughts!**

**Thanks for reading :) **


	16. A Home for the Lonely

**You guys left me a little speechless with your reviews! They seriously make me so happy and you guys should know that every single one of you is so unbelievably amazing. Thank you! **

**Something to consider when reading this is that this was originally supposed to be one chapter, but it got too long and I had to break it up, so this kind of became a "transition chapter", in a way. The second part should be up in a few days! Hope you enjoy this tho. **

* * *

Caroline's mouth flew open at the sight.

"This isn't happening," she said in conviction. She turned to look at him, her expression clearly indicating shock. "This is not what I think it is." She had yet to blink, fearful that if she did all of it would disappear.

He stood idly, leaning against the fence nearby. He allowed himself a small smirk at her reaction and glanced in the direction of the property. It had remained just as he left it; no changes. He looked back at her. "It's exactly what you think it is, sweetheart."

And just when she thought it was completely impossible, her mouth opened even more. She placed a hand over her mouth. "I am so mad at you for this," she told him. She couldn't get herself to move.

He raised his brows in surprise. "Why?"

She sighed. "Because you took me to an abandoned church..." she explained, "when you own a fucking castle."

He laughed. "So, you like it," he realized quietly.

"Like it?" She widened her eyes. "That is such a severe understatement…you don't even understand."

She looked at it from a distance, allowing the view to sink in. The ground, colored with the fallen snow, and the trees that had been relieved of their summer leaves, promised her a life of beauty. The rich colored bricks promised her security and safety. The small path leading to the large French doors of the building invited her to step forward. She looked at Klaus, silently asking for permission.

He smirked. "Have at it, love."

She glanced from Klaus' expression to Ethan's. Ethan stood still, his eyes never leaving the castle before him and his eyes burned with a silent curiosity. His lips lightly parted. It was the only clue Caroline had to help her understand that he was just as surprised as her by the beauty in front of them. She extended a hand towards him and he took it, after a small second of hesitation. She curled her fingers around his cold hand, walking with him down the narrow stone path.

She gently ran her hands along the large, sturdy doors of the castle. The name Mikaelson was engraved in a fancy print, looking as though it was done by hand. Klaus came up next to her and opened the doors for her, allowing her through. She was in too much shock to even mouth a thank you, so she walked in quietly, her hand still tightly curled around Ethan's.

She was greeted with the sound of her feet against cold marble floors, the color of a deep dark chocolate. The ceiling was high above her head, with a large chandelier hanging high above. The walls were exquisitely decorated with a variety of different paintings, all done in the same style. She quickly flashed back to the painting Klaus had once shown her, during the Mikaelson Ball. It was done in the same style as the one her eyes gravitated towards now. The only difference was that the one he had shown her was a landscape, while this was a large painting of a mother and her baby. The boy in the painting looked familiar somehow, yet she couldn't place her finger on it.

She turned to Klaus. "Did you do this?"

Her expression didn't tell him if she enjoyed the work or not, only that she was surprised. He nodded a yes, slowly allowing a hesitant smile to emerge.

"It's beautiful," she told him.

The hesitation behind his smile vanished and he replied with a soft "thank you."

There was a set of double staircases, one on her left and the other on her right. She moved towards them, guiding Ethan to go with her.

Klaus opened his mouth to tell her that she hadn't seen all of the downstairs yet, but shut it promptly, deciding that she should be able to explore in any way she wanted. If she wanted to see the second floor first, he would show her the second floor first. He moved behind them.

The railings of the staircases were beautifully decorated with an engraved design. It looked similar to that of grape vines, none of which were similar to one another. Like the engraving on the front doors, this appeared to be handcrafted. Ethan moved to his left, choosing the left staircase for her. She didn't mind, as she assumed they all led to the same place eventually. Moving up the staircase, she ran her index finger along the engraved design, feeling its texture.

Moving a step forward, she tripped on the stair below her feet and fell back, holding on to the railing for support. Klaus' hands caught her effortlessly, tightly gripping to her waist. She heard him let out a quiet "whoa" and push her forward, once she regained her balance.

"That's a tricky step," he said, remembering that on one occasion he had tripped in this spot as well. "I'll fix it later," he promised. His hands reluctantly left her waist, allowing her to move forward.

"This has a very renaissance feeling to it," she noticed. She decided to walk to the very top floor, so she continued up the stairs.

He smiled. "That's very observant." She was now walking along a hallway that would eventually lead her to his library. There were things in this castle that would interest her more, he guessed, but keeping with the decision he had made earlier, he allowed her to go wherever she pleased. "I'm quite a fan of the renaissance period," he informed. "It was a time filled with some of the most beautiful art pieces ever created. I tried to incorporate as much of it as possible, when designing this."

She turned to him, her expression colored with surprise, once again. "You designed this whole place?"

He smiled. "Yes."

He followed her into the library, which happened to be the smallest room of the place. While Caroline merely acknowledged the existence of the room, not showing enough interest to look through the books he had in his collection, he couldn't help but notice that Ethan had already taken hold of two different books. Klaus couldn't tell which ones they were, but their titles were not what interested him. What did interest him was how curious Ethan seemed to be about them. He watched him flip through the pages of the book, his lips curved in a light smile. He couldn't understand the reaction, knowing that Ethan couldn't read. Caroline had moved on to a different room and he followed her, reluctantly turning his gaze away from Ethan and his admiration of the book in his grasp.

"Bedroom," Caroline voiced her realization. The room was in the shape of a circle, with a large window to let in light. There was a large bed, big enough to fit at least four people, resting near the window. It was higher up than a regular bed. She guessed that if she sat on it, her feet would dangle from the floor, like they had from her own bed, when she was a young girl. Just like the rest of the rooms, this room was no exception; it was exquisitely decorated. "How many bedrooms are there?"

"Nine," he said. "This one is mine."

"That's a big bed to sleep in all by yourself."

He thought about her words, for a second wondering if there was an ulterior motive behind them. He couldn't think of what it would be, if there was one. "It's a big house to live in all by yourself," he replied.

She had replied nothing to this, only quietly wondering if he had in fact lived here all on his own. It would be almost torturous, she thought, to live in a place so big all on your own. Surely it would remind him of his own loneliness, would it not? She felt sadness swell up in her chest, from the thought. A sad silence now lingering between them, they continued walking through the hallways and rooms of the castle. With each room, Caroline found herself saddened for him, realizing more and more that he was just one man, completely and utterly alone, desperately trying to fill a void with extravagant objects and marvelous paintings.

Each room was decorated in a similar fashion, keeping up with the renaissance feel. There was one room that stood out in particular. It was on the first floor and it stood out only because it made her feel especially sad. If she had to label it, she would label it a living room. It was large, like all the rest, with beautiful wooden doors that creaked lightly when she opened them. The floor was hardwood and shone beautifully against the light that assaulted it. There was an antique looking couch, paced beautifully to face a gorgeous looking fireplace. It made her sad because she immediately heard the laughter of children and families that could spend their days, in the winter time, snuggling around the fireplace. At first, it made her feel happy and warm. Then, the happiness subsided and she was, once again, faced with the painful realization that a happy family had never been here. Instead, it was one man, alone.

"Rebekah and Elijah never lived here? Or Kol?" She asked, hoping his response would force away her sadness.

"Yeah, they helped me design it, actually – Elijah, specifically."

She let out a sigh of relief; one that she hoped would not be too obvious to him.

"For a very short amount of time," he continued.

"And then it was just you?" _Please say no_, she begged wordlessly.

She watched him, but his expression stilled and he did not say a word. Instead, he turned away from her and made his way up the stairs. She stayed in the same place he left her, until he came back down. This time, he was with Ethan.

"I want to show you something," he said. They followed him out of the room and into the basement of the castle. Ethan's expression gave nothing away to him, while Caroline appeared disturbed by the atmosphere. "What's wrong, love?"

"There's not bats in here or anything, are there?" Her voice echoed as she spoke. The hallway he led them down was very narrow and she was forced to walk behind him. In a horror movie, this is where the main character would die, she concluded. Still walking, Kaus placed his hand behind his back and held it out for her, palm up. She took it without hesitation. Then, she saw the light of the outside and she let out a breath. She had been holding it in all this time.

"Wow," she whispered quietly at the sight of three horses, in stables. There was a set of doors at the very end and Caroline guessed the led outside; to the backyard, maybe.

Klaus had made his way to the black stallion in the right corner.

"Can I?" She took a step towards the horses, hesitantly, and looked at Klaus for permission.

He smiled. "You may do what you like, no need to ask." He looked at Ethan, who was also looking at him, his eyes asking the same question as Caroline. "Go on," he told him.

Caroline walked up the horse in the middle, next to Klaus'. It was white, with a few black spots on it. She raised her hand to pet it and it lifted its nose with a noise that made her jump back.

"He's friendly," Klaus said.

She placed her hand back to the horse, slower this time. She felt its beautiful white hairs under her fingertips. The horse was calm, almost moving into her touch. "He's beautiful," Caroline said. It was an understatement. "Who looks after them?" She asked.

"I have a few people come in daily, to feed them and groom them. They also get sick, if you don't ride them –"

"Like all men," she said, accidently out loud. She forgot that Ethan was standing right next to her and quickly closed her mouth. She turned to Klaus, trying to determine if he thought it was funny or just childish.

He laughed. "That's quite the comparison."

Her cheeks burned and she couldn't quite hold back a seductive smile. "What's his name?" She asked, turning back to the horse.

"He doesn't have one. None of them do," he said. His voice carried a small hint of regret.

She turned to look at him. She wasn't judging his choice not to name them, but she did wonder why he would make such a choice. "You should name them," she told him. "Without a name…they're kind of invisible."

He watched her guide her hand along the horse's nose, gently. "Can you ride?" He asked her.

She turned back to him, a devilish smile pained on her face once again. If Ethan wasn't standing right there this conversation would become very sexual, very quickly. "Not horses," she said. She bit her lower lip at his knowing smile.

Klaus and Caroline both turned to the unexpected sound of Ethan's small voice.

"Can I have it?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the brown horse in front of him.

Klaus cleared his throat. "Um…" he hesitated. "It's yours, for as long as we're here."

Caroline smiled.

* * *

The next week had passed by very quickly. Maybe, it was because Caroline insisted on going out every day to look at the sights and rarely stayed on the property, or maybe it was just because everything was so new. Regardless, it was absolutely wonderful – all of it. In all her days as a little girl that she dreamed of living in a castle, never once did she truly believe it would happen. Yet, here she was. She wished she could share it with someone, though. She wanted to share how wonderful she felt, being in a place like this. She wanted someone to talk to – someone besides Klaus. She wanted to talk to someone about Klaus – about how he made her feel, sometimes. About how kind he was to her. She missed girl talk. She knew no one would understand, though. How could they, when he refused to show this side of himself to anyone but her?

Oddly enough, her missing home actually made her feel more connected to Klaus. He missed home too, even though he never really had one. Sure, he has castles and houses, but they were not homes. In a way, he was missing something he never had to begin with, it seemed. Either way, often she felt like they were both missing the same thing. But at least they had each other. It was a comforting thought. What worried her, however, was the knowledge that she was starting to forget. She was starting to forget what life was like without him – without him and Ethan.

Waking up one morning, all alone in her bed, she made a realization: it was almost Christmas, and they had yet to decorate anything or bring in a Christmas tree. She missed her friends and family, knowing that she wouldn't be able to spend this holiday with them, this year. All she had this year were Klaus and Ethan. She was used to spending the holidays with family, friends, and extended family. Basically, a lot of people. So, the three of them didn't seem like it would be enough. Maybe she was just being selfish and ungrateful - surely, others have spent holidays with far less.

Then, she had an idea.

Quickly getting her things, she left the house, thankful that Klaus didn't have his vampire hearing and couldn't hear her.

* * *

Klaus walked out of the shower, his jeans loosely hugging his hips, and put on a black V-neck shirt. It clung to his wet body, lightly revealing the outline of his abs.

He walked past Ethan's room. "Ethan," he called, knocking on the door. "Come out, mate. You can't stay in there forever." He sprinted down the stairs.

Stumbling upon a red ribbon on the floor, he bent down to pick it up. That's when he noticed that around him were a series of other festive holiday decorations. He could see a figurine of Santa Claus, a box of unopened glass decorations, a few ribbons, and an unopened box with the pieces to build a gingerbread house.

"Caroline?" He called out to her, walking into the living room on the first floor. He could hear the light sound of the burning fireplace.

"She's out," a male voice informed.

Klaus looked up to the sight of his brother sitting on the couch, looking at a few DVD's. He didn't look closely, but if he wasn't mistaken, all of them were Christmas movies. "What brings you by, brother?" Klaus asked, his eyes still looking at the mess around him. Elijah had come to Paris a few days ago, but their main method of conversation was via phone and Elijah wasn't one to stop by without an invitation, or at least a warning.

"Caroline called me," he said vaguely.

"Did she, now?" He had made the assumption that Elijah's visit was regarding the hunters. Knowing it was because Caroline called him over made him somewhat uncomfortable. Were they growing closer? He wasn't even aware they had exchanged numbers.

Elijah carefully placed the DVDs back on the coffee table. "Yes, something about needing help."

"Well, I assure you that if she needs help she can just ask me," Klaus informed. His voice was very controlled, almost cold. He swallowed his jealousy, knowing there was no need to show it.

Before Elijah could offer Klaus a response, Caroline interrupted. "Actually, I need the both of you to help me," she informed, walking through the doors. She was carrying a few other bags of Christmas decorations and food. She dropped them near the doors to the living room enterance.

_How long was I in the shower?_ Klaus thought to himself, looking at the watch that hung off the wall of the room. It couldn't have been more than half an hour, at most. He opened his mouth to speak, but then two men walked through the room, causing him to press his lips into a line. _What the hell is this?_

Caroline turned around, eagerly smiling at the two men who walked through the door. They carried a medium sized Christmas tree, one man holding the end and the other holding the top. She pointed to the empty corner in the room and they placed the tree there. "Merci!" She smiled at them, thanking them with a thick American accent. They mumbled something in French that she couldn't understand, and walked out. "The men here are fantastic!" She said to herself, grinning.

Elijah and Klaus glanced at one another, dumbfounded, and then turned their gaze back to Caroline.

"Well, get to work!" She waved her arms bringing their attention to the tree.

Neither one said anything, still looking at her with the same lost expression. God, they looked so much alike at this exact moment; same posture, same expression.

"Come one, guys!" She pointed to the decorations. "Tomorrow is Christmas eve and we still don't have the decorations up!"

"We?" Elijah asked, hoping it would remind her that he didn't actually live here.

"I have never had a Christmas without decorations and a Christmas tree," she informed them. "I am not about to start now. Chop! Chop!" She walked to a box of decorations and handed them to Klaus. His blank expression had turned to a look of protest. "Unless you would rather hang up ribbons?" She asked, sweetly.

Elijah walked over to the tied Christmas tree, untying it and freeing it.

"You know, you could have told me," Klaus said. "I could have hired someone to decorate this."

"That's exactly why I didn't tell you," she explained, sitting on the couch and releasing some of the glass decorations from the box. "What fun would it be to get someone to decorate it? You're supposed to do it yourself – that's the point!" She glanced up at the two brothers, who looked absolutely lost. They stared at the undecorated tree as though it was something from another planet. "Wait, you're telling me that you have never decorated a Christmas tree?"

They stared at her, saying nothing.

"Seriously? You're both so…so…" What was the word she was looking for? Old? No, that wasn't quite it. She silently searched for one, but finally gave up and blurted out "You're both like a billion– but you have never decorated a tree?" She ran a hand through her hair in disbelief. "Seriously?" They had yet to speak, so she walked over to them and organized the decorations into different piles.

"This is the lights," she stated the obvious. "They go up first. You have to do it together, because it's basically impossible for a person to do alone. They get tangled and everything." She handed them to Elijah, because Klaus was still holding his box of glass decorations. "These," she pointed to a different pile, "These are the really nice decorations. They go at the top, to be displayed. And these," she pointed a different pile. "These are cute little stuffed animal decorations and they can go at the bottom." She glanced at Klaus. "I also have candy canes, for later."

"I didn't know you wanted decorations," Klaus said.

"Because I didn't tell you. I totally lost track of the days, with everything going on, and I woke up and realized what day it was." She walked back to one of her shopping bags. "Would you wear this?" She took out a sweater and turned it to Klaus.

Klaus stared at it, his expression growing a little horrified. It was an oversized, hideous red sweater with a Santa Claus design. He could hear Elijah stifle a laugh behind him. "No," he replied confidently. She pouted her lips at him. "No," he said again. "You're lucky I'm agreeing to decorate. I refuse to look like a fool as I'm doing it."

She smiled. She wasn't expecting him to, honestly. She was just fishing for a reaction. Walking over to the television, she turned on a channel that played only the radio. Blasting Frank Sinatra's "Let it Snow", she sat back down on the couch, unpacking more decorations.

Klaus was silently grateful that it was Frank Sinatra, and not someone like Britney Spears.

By this point, Elijah had already sorted through the lights. With a long sigh, he held onto to one end of the string of lights and handed Klaus the opposite end.

She smiled, watching them work together. It was cute. She could hear them talking quietly amongst themselves. For once, it was about something other than the hunters. They actually sounded like brothers, for the first time since she's seen them first interact.

"Have you seen Christmas with the Kranks? I've never heard of it," Elijah said.

"Something tells me we may be forced to endure it tomorrow," Klaus said in a voice that indicated he was dreading the thought.

"It's a good movie!" Caroline defended. She took out a box with the parts to build a gingerbread house. "Ethan!" She called. Right about now, she wished that she could have her vampire hearing again. Ethan was out of his room in a moment, quickly making his way down the spiraling staircase. He looked at her. "You have a choice: gingerbread house, or decorate the tree."

He glanced from her to Elijah and Klaus. "Tree," he said in his usual small and shaky voice.

Klaus smiled. "Have at it, Ethan."

Seeing Klaus take a few steps back from the tree, she snapped a finger at him. "No!"

He looked at her, surprised at the sudden outburst.

"That doesn't mean you're off the hook," she told him. "You, Elijah, Ethan – tree, all three of you." It wasn't that she particularly needed Klaus to decorate, just that she wanted he and Elijah to bond over something normal, for once. This is what families do during the holidays, she told herself. He was alone in this castle before, but she would make sure he wasn't alone now.

"I haven't seen this side of you in some time, love," he stepped back to the tree.

"Yeah, well, I'm getting my spark back. Just in time for the new year," she smiled.

And now there was four of them.

* * *

Klaus sat down on the edge of Caroline's bed, smiling softly as she squeezed her pillow, showing her reluctance to wake up. "Caroline," he called her name. She didn't respond, so he took hold of her hand. Their wedding bands clinked together, reminding him that he had yet to take his off. Until he heard that noise, he had forgotten that he was wearing it. "Caroline," he called her name again. She opened her eyes this time, her head creasing her pillow as she leaned against it, waiting for the blurriness of her vision to subside.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Merry Christmas eve."

Her lips curved, forming a grin. "Merry Christmas eve," she replied.

"I have something for you, but you're going to have to get out of this bed, if you want to see it."

She took a breath, getting out of he bed and throwing on a silky bathrobe. "This better be good," she told him.

He looked at her; her legs barely covered by the small robe she had chosen to cover herself with. "Not that I don't enjoy you looking like this, but you're going to need to change," he informed.

She raised her brows. "Oh?"

"Pants, preferably," he told her. "I'll give you a minute. Meet me downstairs."

He moved to leave her room and she called out to him. "Where downstairs?" Never did she think she would ask a question like that, but there were at least ten rooms on the first floor alone.

"Find me," he told her.

She could hear the smile in his voice and her grin widened in response.

Klaus made his way downstairs. Just as he was about to turn the corner, making his way into the living room, he heard the rustling of the entry doors. Immediately becoming guarded, he opened them. He took a breath at the familiar face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked.

"Now, is that any way to greet your brother?" Kol smirked, allowing himself through. He looked behind him, seeing Rebekah do the same. Klaus closed the doors shortly after, composing his thoughts.

"Hello, Nik," Rebekah said.

"Klaus!" Caroline yelled out, quickly walking down the stairs. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," she continued in a teasing voice.

"Well, well, well…" Kol looked up at Caroline.

At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, Caroline glanced up from the floor and straight at Kol and Rebekah. With one hand still on the railing, she stopped dead in her tracks and placed her hand over her chest, in shock.

"No need to cover up on our account," Kol smirked. He took a moment to admire her low cut top; one that wasn't leaving much to the imagination.

She immediately regretted the top she chose. Her hand remained where it was. "You're early," she said.

Klaus' eyes widened. _She knew about this? What the hell is going on?_

Kol took a step towards her and extended his hand, offering to help her down the last few steps of the stairs. "And I see you are trying to seduce my brother," he said, his smirk still present. "We didn't mean to interrupt your plans."

Not taking his hand, she took the last few steps down the stairs. She could feel Kol walking behind her, but her focus remained on Klaus' stunned expression. She offered him a hesitant smile, but he didn't alter his expression. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the day ahead of her.

_Looks like Christmas with the Originals will start early_, she thought.

* * *

**So I guess this gave away that the next chapter will be a Christmas-themed chapter (with all the Originals, Caroline, and Ethan) and it will be a light-hearted one. I decided to add a chapter of happiness for these two, before they're faced with what's coming next ;) **

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter - please, please leave reviews!**

**i-enjoy-you (on tumblr)**


	17. An Original Christmas Eve

**Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! You all are truely so wonderful and you make my day! I know I say that pretty often, but it's always true!**

**This was supposed to be up sooner, but I kind of just lost track of time. Sorry! Here it is now, and it's long. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it.**

* * *

"Aren't you going to say something?" She asked, her voice almost begging him not to react badly.

She knew his relationships with his siblings were strained, at best – in fact, Elijah had warned her about the many possible ways that this could go wrong, when she first approached him with the idea. He had warned her that he could barely remember the last time their family had spent a holiday together. This is precisely why she arranged this get together. The more reasons Elijah had given her not to do this, the more reason she had_ to_ do it. She was just hopeful that this wouldn't backfire on her. Maybe, she was just being an optimist.

"Can I talk you for a moment?" Klaus asked. His voice was very controlled, careful not to reveal any unnecessary emotions.

"Oh, brother," Kol groaned. "We will hear you no matter where you are, if we want to." He looked to Rebekah for support. She offered him a tight lipped smile.

In response to his brother's comment, Klaus pointed to a nearby full-length mirror. "I'm sure at the sight of your own reflection everything else will fade to black. Have at it, little brother." Not wasting time waiting for a reply, Klaus gripped Caroline by the waist and took her to the kitchen.

Caroline defensively crossed her arms. "You're mad."

_Maybe Elijah was right_, she thought. Key difference between Elijah and Klaus: Elijah was more easy-going; easier to compromise with.

"No," he dismissed her accusation. "Curious," he corrected.

"I just thought it would be nice for all of you to spend the holidays together," she explained.

"We don't celebrate it –"

"Well, you should."

He took a breath. "I appreciate what you're trying to do but –"

"Then say thank you," she suggested, her arms still crossed.

He took a step towards her. "This might not end the way you expect it to," he warned.

"Is that an underlying dagger threat, I hear?" Kol yelled from the entry room.

Klaus took a breath, already aggravated by his brother's adolescent behaviour. His eyes were focused on Caroline, who only raised her chin and gave him a confident smile.

"It'll be fun," she told him. Truthfully, she didn't have a clue what she had gotten herself into. She was trying to convince him, just as much as herself. Giving him one final glance, she took another deep breath and walked out.

Klaus was left in the kitchen, taking a moment to prepare himself for the inevitable disaster. His family had celebrated a holiday in years. Granted, it could all be blamed on him for the daggers and such, but regardless the reason, he had forgotten how to get along with his family for more than a few moments. He was almost certain that the day would result in chaos. Less worried for himself, he was more worried that Caroline would spend the day in disappointment. Her reasons were pure, he suspected. But, she had little knowledge of their history and their interactions with one another. She would be miserable, come the day's end. He hoped there was a way to shield her from it, but she was stubborn and determined. And with that thought, he walked out of the kitchen and found her again.

"Ethan," she called up the stairs, knowing he wasn't sleeping. She had heard him make his way into the library before she went downstairs, only to be faced with a very early Christmas 'surprise'. "I want you to meet someone." She gave Kol a stern look. "You better be nice to him."

"And when did you take on the role of the mother cub?" He asked, clearly amused.

"About the same time you became an obnoxious ass," she bit back.

He grinned, almost proud. "Darling, that happened far before your time."

She rolled her eyes. "Be. Nice."

Ethan made his way down the spiraling stairs. He stopped halfway down, his eyes focused on Rebekah and Kol. He swallowed, almost fearfully, but said nothing.

"Ethan, this is my brother and sister," Klaus explained. "Kol and Rebekah."

"Hey kid," Kol greeted. He couldn't help but notice the kid's rapid heartbeat, revealing his anxiety. "No need to be frightened," he said.

Ethan didn't say anything, remaining where he was.

"Hi." Rebekah tried to break the silence.

Kol inhaled a breath. "Wow, not a long-winded one, are you? That's okay, neither was my brother, but we got along just fine."

Caroline's lips parted and her eyes instantly found Klaus. Kol's words replayed in her head. _Neither was my brother_ – 'was', as in human? _Got along just fine_…when did that change? She looked at Klaus, hoping for an answer to her unspoken question, but he only responded with a glance that offered her nothing.

He proceeded to guide Ethan into the living room, leaving Caroline alone with Kol and Rebekah.

"Was that nice enough?" Kol asked Caroline.

"I assume you're expecting me to thank you for showing a child a shred of decency?"

He raised his brows, as though surprised by her response. For a second, it appeared as though he wanted to say something, but he only shrugged.

"Well, I'm bored," Rebekah finally announced as she turned and walked away from the two of them.

Caroline had half a mind to respond with something snippy, but she decided that today wasn't the time for that. Her and Rebekah could resume their rivalry another time. She gave Kol one final glance and they followed into the living room seconds later, saying nothing to one another.

* * *

"Come on, I want to see it," Rebekah whined as she slouched down on the couch and took a sip of her apple cider. She kept a firm hold on the remote control that she had taken from Klaus.

"You know," Kol leaned back on his chair, his voice carrying a tone that suggested he was about to say something highly informative. "The current movies – they're not all they're made out to be. I've recently had the displeasure of watching Pretty Woman –"

Caroline accidently let out a chuckle, remembering seeing the DVD. She looked to Klaus, who sat next to her and smirked at her reaction.

Kol raised a brow and looked to Elijah, who sat next to Rebekah. His expression had not changed in the slightest at Caroline's reaction, so Kol turned back to look at Caroline herself. "Did that amuse you, darling?"

"Don't call me darling," she replied, smiling sweetly. "Unless you want your tongue ripped out."

"She bites!" Kol exclaimed, eagerly. "I like a feisty woman."

"Kol," Klaus chided, slightly raising his back from the back of the couch.

Caroline rolled her eyes at Kol. "Can we just watch the movie?"

"Yes, can we?" Rebekah agreed.

"Ethan," Klaus interrupted just as Rebekah was about to press the play button. She let out a sigh of aggravation, but he ignored it. "You know there's room on the couch," he told Ethan, who sat on the floor of the room, leaning against the leg of the couch, on Caroline's side.

"It's okay," Ethan responded.

Reaching for a pillow, he threw it to Ethan. He caught it effortlessly and placed it behind his back, making himself more comfortable.

Rebekah pressed play.

_Finally_, Caroline thought to herself, _some silence_.

The beginning scene of the movie consisted of a couple sitting on their bed, looking off in opposite directions.

"Look, they're bored," Kol announced, just in case anyone missed it.

Caroline rolled her eyes and Rebekah paused the movie.

"You know what two people could do in bed, when bored?" He asked.

"Kol," Klaus said in a warning tone, shifting his head to Ethan, who did not appear to be paying much attention to the conversation – if it could even be called that.

"They could talk," Kol suggested innocently.

"May we watch without the commentary?" Rebekah asked. She pressed play.

And with that, Kol was quiet. He was – for all of fifteen minutes. "I'm bored," he announced after his fifteen minutes of silence were up. "I need entrainment."

"This is entertainment," Caroline said.

"I need better entertainment."

Caroline groaned, looking to Klaus. He appeared to be amused by his brother's shenanigans. She turned to Elijah, who she considered to be her last hope of getting Kol to shut up. He only raised his brows and gave her an 'I-told-you-so' type of glance. She sighed. "Fine, what do you suggest we do?"

He smiled. "Let's go out."

"Fine." She got up. "Let's."

* * *

They all walked in silence for a long time, almost awkwardly, around Klaus' property. No one said anything and the quiet was killing Caroline. She didn't particularly mind being silent when it was just her and Klaus, but this made her feel uncomfortable.

"How are you any less bored now than you were before?" She finally asked, her eyes shifting to Kol.

"It'll get more amusing in a moment, darling," he assured her.

Before she could think of a snarky response, she found herself falling quickly. The cold of the snow surrounded her and she looked up at Kol's amused face. She could hear Klaus yell out his name angrily and she could see his shadow as he walked to her and extended a hand towards her. She smiled sweetly, scrunching up a full hand of snow and throwing it in Kol's direction. He ducked effortlessly and she hated that she no longer had her vampire reflexes. She looked back to Klaus, who still had his hand extended.

"It's only fair that Kol helps me up, don't you think?"

With a cocky smile, Kol extended his hand. "I wasn't expecting that you'd fall down like that, love."

Taking a firm grip of his hand, she said "Don't call me love." In one swift motion she pulled down as hard as she could and he fell into the snow with her. She then took Klaus' hand, got up and shook herself off.

Kol was at her side within seconds, laughing.

She turned to him. "If we're doing this, then we're in teams." For a second, she wondered if she had really just said that. The Originals and a snowball fight? She couldn't quite tell if it was amusing or just weird. Then again, aside from being worldly and experienced, they weren't all that different from anyone else. Just like anyone else, they would enjoy a playful game like this. Right? She turned to Elijah, who she assumed would be the most reluctant, but he didn't make a move or even bat an eyelash. Judging by this, she assumed he was up for it? She turned back to Kol.

Kol clicked his tongue, deciding who he wanted on his team. "Kid," he turned to Ethan. "You're with me."

Caroline's mouth popped open. She wasn't expecting that one bit. She closed it promptly and took hold of Klaus by the collar, bringing him closer to herself.

Kol smiled in amusement and shook his head.

"What?" She asked.

"Considering you're both powerless, this should be a quick game." He gestured for Rebekah to come by his side.

She only rolled her eyes and motioned for Elijah to join them.

And with that, the game had begun.

For a moment, she felt completely terrified for enjoying herself so much. A snowball fight with the originals was one of the last things she would have ever expected. Watching them, they were all having a good time. They looked young, and not just because they were eternally 20-somethings. They looked young because they were enjoying themselves. It was surprising just how much they looked like a family. Any feelings of self-loathing, she pushed them away. She was having a good time and what anyone in Mystic Falls would think didn't matter, because they were not there with her. Her life was no longer with them, not in Mystic Falls. Her life was here, no matter if she liked it or not.

A few hundred snowballs later and a lot of laughs and yells, the game was done. Caroline, Klaus and Elijah won, despite Kol's initial assumption that they would not. Of course, Kol and Rebekah protested that they cheated, and of course they all denied it. It was true, however, they did cheat. They had pretended to retreat, getting them to drop their guard, and then acted quickly, hitting each of them with a snowball. Still, considering Kol was right; Caroline and Klaus were lacking their powers, how would they win, if they didn't resort to trickery?

* * *

Caroline watched Klaus for a moment, taking off his jacket, covered in snow. She took a few steps towards him. "What did you want to show me this morning?" She asked. They hadn't had a chance to be alone all day and she was curious.

"It's a little late," he explained. "Tomorrow."

"No," she protested. "Now." She could see a hint of a smile on his face and she smiled in response.

"Let's go."

They quickly slipped out, without his family even noticing. He led her down to the basement and down the narrow hallway, leading to the stables. This place irked her; the darkness, the dirty ground, the creepy feeling. She kept her thoughts to herself, quietly walking behind him until they were in the stables.

Not saying anything, he pointed to something on one of the haystacks. He watched her walk to where he was pointing.

"It's a saddle," she said as she took it into her grasp. It was dark brown leather and it looked more expensive than it probably should have been. Cheap, obviously was not his style, she thought. It wasn't that she was not grateful, just that she felt bad that he appeared to have spent an obscene amount of money. Her fingers hit a rough patch and she lifted them. There was an engraving. "Caroline Forbes," she read.

"It's not diamonds but –"

"I don't need diamonds," she interrupted. "This is beautiful."

"I was going to teach you today, but then…" his voice trailed off.

"They were early."

He smiled a soft, tight-lipped smile. "I know."

After a short moment of silence, a question arose in her head. It hadn't been the first time that she wondered this. "Why are you doing this for me?" She asked, breaking their silence. She wasn't clear, she realized. "Elijah told me that you're trying to keep me safe."

"Did he now?" He sat down on a nearby stack of hay. "I didn't know you two had talked…about me."

"After the fight. The one before our last fight," she explained.

He paused for a moment, thinking back on their fights, figuring out which fight she was talking about. "So, you wouldn't talk to me about it, but you talked to him."

She hesitated. Talk to him about it…when exactly did she have a chance to talk to him about their fight and his reasons for keeping her away from Mystic Falls? He very quickly buried himself in the study with a bottle of alcohol and then allowed sleep to take him over. The next day was its own battle. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to him, just that they didn't have much opportunity.

"I think he and I could be friends," she told him cautiously.

He nodded his head, struggling to keep his displeasure inside. "Right."

"You didn't answer my question; why are you doing this? What's in it for you?" She put his gift down, back on the haystack.

He laughed, although he didn't find this question particularly funny. It was more concerning than amusing. "Why do you always assume I have an ulterior motive?"

"Past history?" She suggested. The look she gave him had a hint of humor, but he didn't appear to go along with it. She slowly regained her serious expression.

"You and I don't have that kind of history," he pointed out calmly. "I haven't had ulterior motives, when it comes to you."

She stayed silent for a moment. "Still, you can't deny that you tend to do things because it's beneficial for you in some way. If it's not, then you don't care, right?"

He sighed. "I like you," he told her. He had said this multiple times before, but it appeared as though she needed it to be repeated. She didn't believe him, he thought. He got up and took a step towards her, closing almost all the space between them. "Can't it just be that simple?"

He watched her, waiting for her to say something, but she didn't. Instead, it appeared as though she was leaning into him, her lips slowly parted and her chin softly rose. He slowly met her half way, until he could feel every breath she took on his lips. He looked at her for a second, remembering the last time they kissed, what it led to, and the fight that occurred shortly after. Perhaps, this wasn't a good idea. He stayed in place, not drawing back and not moving forward. He wanted to. He wanted to take her in his arms and make her his – in every way. He had made the decision that until she was ready to let him do that, he would keep away from this aspect of their relationship. Still, he couldn't quite get himself to take a step back. He closed his eyes, his lips lingering so painfully close to hers. She moved forward and their foreheads touched, and he knew that she was waiting for him to kiss her. He didn't. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. Then, her eyes opened softly and she looked at him. He shifted his gaze from her beautiful blue eyes to the ground to his right. Not saying a word, he lightly shook his head no. Feeling her take a step back, he looked at her. If he was reading her glance correctly, she appeared to be embarrassed – possibly even humiliated. "Caroli—"

"Don't," she replied quietly. Looking at his gift, resting on one of the haystacks, she said "Thank you for –" She swallowed a breath, stung by the rejection. A part of her was upset that of all people, Klaus was rejecting her. Another part of her felt bad for even caring. Most of all she felt upset, knowing that she had successfully pushed him away to a point where he couldn't even get himself to kiss her. He saw her differently now. "Thank you for the gift," she said, breezing through the sentence in one quick breath, before heading to walk away.

He went after her. "Caroline."

She closed her eyes, wishing she could be anywhere else. "It's fine."

He gripped onto her shoulders and turned her around to face him. "I swear to you, this is not what you think it is."

"Then, what is it?"

He hesitated.

"Klaus," Kol said as he walked into the stables. "Don't you know it's not proper etiquette—"

"What do you want Kol?" Klaus said, his anger barely suppressed by his clenched teeth. Caroline had taken a step back from him now and he didn't make a move towards her.

"Your kid is hungry," he explained, now realizing that he had intruded on some sort of intense moment.

"There are two kitchens in this place and you couldn't find a fridge?" He asked, aggravated.

"I'll go get him something," Caroline volunteered and quickly made her way out.

* * *

By the time Klaus had returned, they were all putting food on the dinner table, talking amongst themselves. From a distance, they appeared completely normal – like a real family. His eyes found Caroline, who was too busy talking to Elijah to notice he was there. They were joking about something and he didn't like it. He scrunched his brows, hearing something horrifying.

"I'll show you mine, if you show me yours," Caroline offered to Elijah with a smile.

Elijah raised a brow at her. With a smile, he shook his head.

"Please?" She pouted.

"Oh, Elijah, just show her and we can move on to better topics of discussion," Rebekah interrupted, bringing a few salads to the table.

"What are we talking about?" Klaus asked, walking towards the table.

Caroline looked up at him, as though nothing had happened at the stables. "He won't show me his -" she turned to Ethan, who wasn't paying attention and then turned back to Klaus "- fangs," she explained in a whisper.

"Why do you need to see them?"

"At first it was a joke, but he's making such a big deal out of it," she explained. "Now I'm curious." She pulled out a chair for herself and sat down at the table, now that everything was set.

"Didn't curiosity kill the cat?" Kol chimed in. "Or so people keep saying." He sat down, placing himself between Ethan and Rebekah.

"Later," Elijah told Caroline in a quiet voice, sitting down next to Klaus.

The dinner passed by quickly and – dare she say it? – It was enjoyable.

Now, it was late, his siblings were gone, Ethan was in bed, and she was cleaning off the table with Klaus. It was just them now, in complete silence. She took the silence as a moment to reflect on the day. Watching them all talking at the table, she noticed something that she never really realized before; they were all the same. They were all the same in the sense that they were all lonely. Maybe, that is why - although Elijah and Klaus warned her away from the idea - none of them protested too much at the thought of spending a holiday together. They all wanted to, they were just nervous.

Klaus' loneliness she had been aware of for a little while now, so this was no surprise. It was the others that surprised her. Rebekah was the overprotected sister. Each of her brothers loved her, it seemed, but they controlled her. What shocked Caroline is that as stubborn as she was, she allowed them power over her. Maybe, she just didn't know any other way, Caroline thought. She was also the only woman amongst them, which labeled her somewhat of an outcast in her own family. Elijah was very different from them all. He had a tremendous amount of control over himself; the only one of them that truly tried to follow a moral code. He was very much like the parent to them all, and this made him very much alone within his own family. Kol – Kol surprised her the most. Behind the adolescent behaviour, there was a man who very genuinely had compassion for a boy like Ethan. She had trouble wrapping her head around that.

"Kol was good with Ethan…" her voice trailed off.

"Yes, he was." He replied. He wasn't surprised. She appeared to be, however.

"I didn't think he would care about a little kid."

Klaus smirked. "Well, people can surprise you."

_Could he be any more vague?_ "He likes kids?"

"He understands kids," Klaus corrected. He left into the kitchen and filled himself a glass of water.

She followed him. He offered her his glass, but she shook her head. "What does that mean?" After asking this, she wondered how close she was to annoying him with her prying questions and hints.

And with that, he knew she wouldn't drop this line of questioning. He took a breath, before explaining. "He understands kids like Ethan, because he was a kid like Ethan. As were Elijah and myself…and to a lesser extent, Rebekah."

"Mikael," she whispered connecting the dots. "I thought Mikael only hated you." She almost flinched from the regret of how she said that last sentence.

He took a sip of his water, saying nothing. He was taken aback by how she said her last sentence, with such bluntness.

"Elena told me a few things," she explained. "That was an insensitive way to bring that up. Sorry."

"Mikael very easily raised a hand against each of his children. It just so happened that I got in the way much more often than the rest of them." He took a breath and put down the glass. "You know, it's been a good day. I'd like to leave this discussion for another day."

She smiled at his comment about it being a good day, feeling as though she had some part in it. With a slight nod of her head she walked out and into the living room. The fire was still going and she took a moment to look at the beautiful sparks of orange and yellow. It reminded her of the painting she had done with Klaus.

She could feel him walk into the room. She turned to look at him, seeing him close the large living room doors and lock them. She said nothing, only giving him a small confused look. He didn't say anything, so she turned back to the fire. Then, she could feel him walk up behind her, placing a hand on her arm. She didn't move, not even to look at him. His hand left her arm and into her hair, moving it to her side. She tensed in response to his breath heavy on the curve of her neck. Without noticing, she tilted her head back a little, giving him permission. He softly placed his lips to her skin.

"I thought we weren't doing this anymore," she said, with her eyes still closed.

His lips left her skin, but he remained where he was. "It's just a kiss," he whispered.

"I don't want a pity kiss." She took a step forward, away from him.

"That's not what this is."

"This isn't you feeling bad about what happened before?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Then, what is this?"

He took a few confident steps towards her. Taking a strand of her hair, he moved it behind her ear. Her chest rose and fell slowly, indicating that she was taking long breaths. He knew this meant she was trying to keep up a front and not give anything away to him. He looked down and then up from his lashes, raising his brows. "This is me telling you that I want to be with you."

His voice had a seductive quality to it that made her go weak at the knees. A part of her wanted to say no and reject him, just so that he would know what it feels like, but somehow she felt it wouldn't be worth it. He wanted her. He was showing her that she was wrong; he hadn't lost interest. It didn't feel right to ruin the moment, dragging up her insecurities. Regardless, he wasn't exactly waiting for a response. His lips were on hers in a second, softly at first and then becoming more passionate. She closed her eyes to the sensation of him trailing kisses along her jaw line, until he reached her neck.

His lips still on her neck, he found the lower hem of her top. She raised her arms, allowing him to take it off. He smiled at her eagerness, dropping the shirt on the floor. He could feel her pushing on his chest, walking forward. He turned to look behind him, finding the couch and sat down, allowing her to straddle him. Relieving him of his shirt, she invited herself into his mouth, with one hand on his abs and the other on his back, holding him closer. She moaned into his mouth, moving against the seam of his jeans, and he could feel his erection move in response.

Feeling him under his jeans, she pulled away from their kiss and found his belt, separating it from his jeans. He kissed her bare shoulders as she did this, until she moved off him completely to step out of her jeans, before taking his off. Seeing him lift himself off the couch, she placed two hands on both his shoulders and pushed him back down.

He stilled, feeling her run her lips along his hipbones, teasing. His fingers intertwined in her hair, softly. She moved down towards his erection slowly, until he finally felt her mouth on his cock, causing him to tilt his head back at the sensation. With her hand on the base, controlling how much of him she took in, she swept her tongue across the sensitive top, making him harden even more. Her movements were soft at first, and then became faster as she began to use her mouth and hands, giving him the illusion that she was taking in all of him. She wasn't stopping and he knew that at the rate she was going, it would all be over too soon. He called her name, somewhat breathlessly, and she soon moved herself over him, straddling him again. He got off the couch, taking her with him and pressing her into a nearby wall. The coldness of the wall caused her to ach her back, pressing her chest into him.

His hands left the back of her legs, so that they were both standing. In one swift motion, he unclasped her bra, throwing it next to her shirt. His lips traveled from her collarbone to her chest and then to her stomach. She felt him move back up, until he was kissing her neck again, feeling her moans with his mouth. Feeling his hand slip between her legs, she gripped onto his back, her nails digging into his flesh. Hearing him release a small groan – of pain, if she was reading it correctly, she loosened her grip. She pulled away, feeling his blood flow down her hands.

He could feel her hands trace over the wound, soothingly. "Its fine," he assured her before she had the chance to say anything.

Together, they moved from the wall to the floor. He entered her from behind, moving himself between the walls of her sex, and a moan left her in response. At first, he was going slow, easing her into it, and then started picking up his pace. He kissed from her spine to her shoulders, keeping himself up with one arm while the other caressed between her legs, before he raised himself up again and moving faster, thrusting deeper into her. Not being able to hold off for any longer, he found his release, holding himself up on his arms to stop from putting all his weight on her.

Feeling him slide out of her, she began to move away, but he held her where she was, only making a move to indicate that he wanted her on her back. She complied, somewhat hesitantly, knowing that he was done. A gasp left her as he swiftly moved her legs apart and moved himself between them, knowing that she had yet to find her release. He slid his fingers into her, his tongue working around her center. Within minutes, she was caught in her own wave of ecstasy, letting satisfaction take her over. She closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing and by the time she opened them, he was at her side.

She ran a hand through her messy hair, before getting up and getting a nearby blanket. She threw the blanket to him and threw a couple of the couch pillows on the floor, before lying back down beside him. "What changed your mind?"

He placed the large blanket over them. "Nothing," he said.

She hesitated. "I'm just curious," she explained. "You were holding out before."

He laughed a little. "Is that what I was doing?"

"What, is this a game?"

"No," he replied, his tone now serious. He relaxed into his pillow, taking a moment to contemplate the ways he could explain. "It's just…" he struggled a little. "Sex is easy," he said, letting out a breath along with the words. He licked his lips before continuing. "It's a set of physical – even chemical – reactions. It's a basic biological need. It's something almost anyone can partake in." He turned to look at her. She was resting on her side, her arm bent at the elbow and her head resting in the palm of her hand. She wasn't saying anything, waiting for him to continue. "Anybody could be _this_ for you," he finally said.

She nodded lightly in understanding. This put his earlier reaction, before the car chase, into perspective. She didn't say anything back.

With a sigh, he finished his explanation. "I didn't want to be something that just anybody could be." He watched her and saw a small smile crease her face. She had yet to speak, and he began feeling uncomfortable, a little too honest for his liking.

"So, that explains what happened at the stables," she said softly. "And then what? You changed your mind?" She demonstratively waved a hand between them, bringing attention to the obvious act that had just occurred between them.

He smiled softly. "Moment of weakness," he whispered. "You're…beautiful."

She moved so that she was on her back, the same way that he was. An amused smile left her. "It's kind of funny," she said.

He tensed, growing worried that this little moment of honestly could now somehow be held over his head. Guarded, he asked, "How so?"

"It's just that…you notice _everything_. I don't really know how you do it, sometimes. You notice the smallest things, the smallest details," she explained. "But you missed the one thing that I thought was so painfully obvious to everyone." He didn't say anything to this, so she looked at him. "You're not just anybody. I thought you knew that."

He looked at her, once she said this, and his expression was a mix of surprise and hesitation. She realized, then, that he had absolutely no idea that she felt anything for him at all. She just spent Christmas with his crazy family and he didn't even clue into the fact that she might have done it because she cared. She smiled; this time, from complete disbelief.

Her eyes sill on him, she watched the hesitant smile form across his face. "You're unbelievable," she said in a quiet voice.

* * *

Caroline had woken up the next morning, assaulted by the sunrays that invaded the room. Rubbing her eyes, she pulled the blanket over her chest, covering herself. They had spent the night on the floor of the living room. The fire in the fireplace had now died, although its wonderful smell remained. Stretching, she looked at Klaus, who was sleeping next to her. She ran her hand across his chest. A lighthearted smile left him and with that she knew he wasn't sleeping, just reluctant to open his eyes. She took a moment to look around the room, their clothes still thrown around various spots. A bright red light caught her attention and she focused on it. It was from Klaus phone, a few millimeters away from his jeans.

"You have a text message," she told him.

With a lazy groan, he moved so that he was on his stomach and reached for the phone.

Eleven missed calls.

One text message.

He opened it.

_Damn it, Niklaus. Call me, now. Urgent._

_- Elijah_

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave reviews and thoughts! As always, I really love reading what you guys have to say :)**


	18. Red Stains

**I'm so glad you guys liked the Christmas chapter and took the time to tell me! Your reviews mean a lot to me, really. They seriously do motivate me to keep writing, because just like anyone else (probably), I have moments where I doubt myself and want to stop writing. Then, I read some reviews and it really does boost my ego a bit and gives me reason to continue. Thank you for that!**

**I didn't think I would have a chapter up already, but I'm on my holiday break, so I have a bit more time (even with the holiday planning). Anyways, here is yet another chapter. This is likely the last one before Christmas. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

"I never understood why people do this for fun," Klaus said. His voice was soft, with a hint of amusement.

Caroline shrugged, leaning against his chest. The warmth of his body spread to hers and the security she felt in his arms drew out a hint of a smile from her face. She was allowing herself yet another moment to not worry about the thoughts anyone in Mystic Falls would have, if they were to see the two of them. Truthfully, she had been allowing herself a lot of those carefree moments, lately. Sometimes, it was wonderful, because she could just relax and do what she wanted. Other times, she wondered if all of this would catch up with her.

"I would have guessed you, of all people, would like it," she said. Maybe, she should have known better. This wasn't exactly manly. Then again, he didn't put up a fight when she made the suggestion.

He dipped the soapy bath sponge in the warm water. "Granted, there wasn't always the option of a shower, but when the option became available I thought it was a fine replacement."

"Not a replacement," she corrected, "an additional option."

He raised the sponge over her stomach and squeezed. The warm soapy water hit her skin, dissolving around her. "It's much like soaking in your own filth—"

She lifted herself off his chest and turned to look at him from behind her shoulder. She raised her brows. "Filth?"

His lips quirked up and into a small smile, realizing he might have just gotten himself into a bit of a pickle. "I wasn't implying –"

She smiled with a fake sweetness and took the sponge out of his hands, dropping it into the water. She leaned back against him. "This is supposed to be fun," she whined. "First the boring history of the bathtub, now the comments on filth…" Her voice trailed off. She could practically hear the smile on his face, as his lips found the curve of her neck, kissing lightly. She moved forward, away from him. "Not until I'm done soaking in my own filth," she said lightheartedly.

"You said you wanted fun," he said in a low, seductive voice. "I was merely trying to think of ways to achieve that."

She leaned back against him. "Actually," she said, "I wanted to talk to you about something." This was something she had been thinking about since Christmas, but she could never find a good time to discuss it. On the one hand, this wasn't the best time to bring it up; it could ruin the moment. On the other hand, he was relaxed and more likely to react well to this conversation. She had found that he was most honest and truthful at times like this, when his guards were down.

Her tone was serious, so he adjusted his accordingly. "About?"

"Ethan," she replied. He didn't say anything to this, so she continued. "I keep waiting for him to get better and do normal things and he's not." Growing a little nervous, she began fidgeting with her hands, her fingers intertwining.

Reaching over, he placed one hand over both of hers, putting an end to her fidgeting. "What do you mean by 'normal things', exactly?" He was so rarely around kids that he had no clue as to what was categorized as 'normal' childhood behaviour. Perhaps, this is where she could help.

She was quiet for a moment. "I'm not sure," she said honestly. "But it's definitely not staying in his room day after day." She raised herself off his chest and turned to look at him again. "Do you even know what he does in there?"

He shrugged and she leaned back against him. "I take that, since you have brought this up, you have a suggestion?"

This was the part that scared her. He was right; she did have a suggestion, and she was almost certain that he wouldn't like it. Taking a quiet breath to prepare herself, she voiced her proposition. "What if we send him somewhere?"

Silence.

She could feel his hands move from her arms, exposing them to the cold air. She didn't move. She stared at the faucet, too nervous to look at him. It must have been a minute or two of complete and utter silence, neither of them saying anything. This reaction was worse than what she was expecting. It was tense and Caroline silently wished that she could be anywhere else. Then, she felt his hands on her back, and he softly pushed her off his chest and get out of the tub. She watched as he wrapped a towel around his waist, leaving the bathroom. He didn't make a sound as he did this and she couldn't see his face, to determine if his expression was one that indicated anger.

"Wait," she called out to him, but he was already out of the room. She threw a bathrobe over herself and went after him. "Klaus," she whispered loudly, following him into his room.

He grabbed a comb, running it through his wet hair. He could see her in the reflection of the mirror, so he turned to face her. "He's not going anywhere, Caroline." His voice left no room for debate. He was trying his best to keep his anger at her suggestion bottled up. He wasn't entirely surprised, though. After all, she had never been eager to have Ethan go with them. Foolishly, he had thought that she might have been warming up to him, showing some understanding.

"I think you're being unreasonab—" She stopped herself, suddenly realizing how what she said must have sounded to him. She took a breath. "You thought I meant give him away?" She asked. Not waiting for a reply, she explained. "I meant a therapist."

"Therapist?" He slowly relaxed, letting go of his initial angry reaction.

"I don't have younger siblings," she explained. "I don't know what a kid his age is supposed to do. I played with barbies, I think…but I'm a girl." He didn't say anything, but she could see his posture change into a slightly more relaxed state, no longer as stiff as before. "And you – I don't think they had barbies or trucks in the tenth century. You probably played with rocks," she mumbled through. "You don't know what a kid his age is supposed to do either, do you?"

"Why is it that he is 'supposed' to do anything? Would it be so terrible for him to just do what he likes, without someone making feeble attempts to change him?"

"It's not about changing him. I want to help him," she defended. The look he shot her as she said this made her think that he didn't believe her. "I've never been hit," she said quietly. "I was taught how to read, I went to school, I had friends. I had a normal childhood. I can't talk to him about whatever it is that he went through and he needs to talk to someone." Silently she remembered Klaus telling her that Mikael easily raised a hand against his children. Maybe, Klaus could talk to him. She didn't make that suggestion, though, thinking that if Klaus had wanted to talk to him about it, he would have done it by now. "He could talk it out with a therapist. Someone that knows about trauma."

He thought about her words for a minute. He wasn't exactly set on the idea of a therapist, feeling as though these people often got paid a gross amount of money to simply sit and nod their heads, listening to others confess their list of problems. No matter his feelings, Caroline were right; it wouldn't hurt if Ethan talked to someone. "Fine," he replied quickly. "He'll go to a therapist."

She watched him take off the towel and drape it over a nearby armchair, before crawling under the covers of his bed. "That's it?" She asked. "Just like that – that easy?"

"I was really hoping that, over time, you would come to find that I am not always difficult."

She stayed where she was, giving him a small smile, before starting to walk out. She had never stayed the night in his bed, not even after they had been together. She always went back to her own, and he never stopped her.

"Caroline, you can stay," he told her. "I can't quite understand why you always leave."

"You never ask me to stay," she replied simply.

"I never ask you to leave either," he countered.

She turned off the main lights, leaving only the lamp that rested near his bed as their light source. She walked across the room and took the liberty of opening his closet and taking out one of his shirts, to replace her bathrobe, before getting into the bed with him. It was odd, how much this felt like a normal thing to do.

They rested in silence for a few moments, Caroline's thoughts moving to the events on Christmas day. She turned to look at him; he was resting on his back, looking up at the ceiling. For a moment, she imagined what he looked like as a human. Physically, he wasn't different, but maybe his energy was different. Maybe, he was happier, maybe angrier. Probably more kind.

"How old were you when you turned?" She asked, looking up at the ceiling with him.

He sighed heavily. "You're thinking about the cure again."

Everyday, since Elijah's eleven messages, Caroline had at least one question in regards to the cure and the brotherhood of the five. Elijah had called to inform Klaus to not kill Conner, under any circumstances, finding out that he was one of the five. After this, Klaus was forced to explain the history of the five to Caroline and vaguely skim through his own interactions with the hunters, while trying not to burden her with the gory details of his hallucinations, after killing them.

"You didn't answer my question," she replied softly.

"I was twenty-three," he answered in a quiet voice.

She turned to look at him, trying to take in the details of his face; the creases around his eyes and on his forehead, his stubble, the way his hair fell to his face, and even the way he pressed his lips. "You look older," she told him.

He shrugged. "It was a different time. People aged faster. Life was more difficult, more physical labor."

"Did you like being human?"

He hesitated. Most of what he didn't like of his human life had to do with circumstance, rather than physically being human. Now that he was a vampire, he had strength and power (well, he used to); all the things that he lacked as a human. Still, as a human he did not know what it would be like to have those things, so he was never unhappy being trapped in his human body.

"Yes, I suppose. It was all I knew."

"Were you scared, when you turned?" She asked the question in such a small voice that it was almost a whisper. She was almost certain that he wouldn't answer this one.

"I don't really remember," he fibbed, not yet looking at her.

Before, her questions had to do with the cure, Rebekah's part in it, and the five hunters. She briefly questioned his hallucinations, but when he gave her a few vague responses, she backed off. Now, he was finding that she was asking him questions that were more and more personal. It had two effects: one, it made him uncomfortable, as they were a little too close to heart; two, it gave him an unexplainable feeling of, perhaps, happiness…content…maybe importance – he couldn't quite describe it – because someone cared enough to ask him these questions.

"You're lying," she said. "I don't think anyone would forget something like that."

For a moment, he thought about not answering. For a reason he couldn't understand he replied with complete honesty. "I didn't know what was happening. Yes, I was scared."

"Me too." She smiled sadly. He didn't say anything, looking away from her, like he often did when she asked him personal questions. Honestly, she was surprised that he answered them, seeing as he usually brushed them off and moved on to different topics of discussion. They were quiet for a few more moments, before she broke their silence again. "Do you ever wonder what everyone would think if they saw us now?"

He looked at her. "Does it matter?"

She didn't hesitate. "Yes."

He moved so that he was on his side now, facing her. "You know, your life would be much easier if you didn't spend so much energy, worried about other people's opinions." Silently, he wondered how often she worried about such things.

"Maybe," she replied.

He didn't say anything to that and she didn't feel the need to say anything else. With him still resting on his side, she slowly moved closer to him. She was reluctant to do this, torn between knowing this is what she wanted and knowing she shouldn't want to. She stayed where she was, her forehead at his chest. He drew a breath and she could feel it against her hair. Sleepily, she relaxed, allowing sleep to take her over.

* * *

Walking out of Klaus' bedroom the next morning, he and Caroline were met with two big blue eyes, like plates, staring up at them. It was Ethan, standing right at the door of the bedroom. Caroline raised her brows in surprise, and she and Klaus moved out of the doorway, allowing Ethan through into Klaus' room.

"Good morning," Klaus greeted, a little guarded. _Was he eavesdropping?_

Ethan moved into the room, somewhat hesitantly. Innocently looking up at the two of them, he asked, with a little too much confidence, "Are you vampires?"

Caroline's eyes widened and she was certain that the nervousness that Ethan's question encouraged was written all over her face. _Why does this have to happen first thing in the morning?_ She bit her lower lip, not daring to say anything, and turned to Klaus. He was well composed and his expression, like usual, gave away very little. This was somewhat reassuring, as she was certain he would handle this line of questioning much better than she could.

"Why would you ask that?" Klaus asked, trying his absolute best to be casual. He took a second to analyze Ethan's expression. He didn't appear to be worried and his tone of voice and body language were a little too casual for such an intrusive question. He couldn't help but silently wonder what brought upon such a change.

"I found something," he explained.

_Blood bags_, Caroline realized. She said nothing.

"I found a lot of blood in bags, like in the movies," Ethan continued.

"They're Halloween decorations," Caroline lied.

Klaus turned to her, but said nothing. They had never discussed telling Ethan about vampires, but based on her reaction it was obvious this was not something she wanted him to know. He wasn't about to go against her in front of Ethan. He turned back to him, trying to figure out if he bought the lie.

Ethan paused, thinking about this for a moment. "No, they're not," he said. "The fake ones have brand names on them."

_How the hell does he know that?_ She said didn't utter a word. In fact, she practically stopped breathing.

"Wait – what were you doing in the basement?" Klaus asked, remembering that the blood bags were hidden in one of the basement rooms. Caroline hated going down there, so it was always Klaus who had to get the bags for the both of them.

"I went to see Acorn," Ethan said.

"And who might that be?" Klaus asked quickly.

"The horse."

"You named him?" Klaus asked, his eyes carrying a hint of surprise. The name 'Acorn' struck him as interesting. He vaguely remembered reading of a horse with this name in the _Chaos Walking_ trilogy, by Patrick Ness. He brushed it off as a coincidence, although he didn't believe in such things. For a second, he tried to remember if he had a copy of this trilogy in his library.

"I got lost and went to the wrong room," Ethan continued, ignoring Klaus' question. "In the library there is a book, _Salem's Lot _–"

"Stephan King?" Caroline blurted out.

He nodded.

Yes, _Salem's Lot_ was definitely a book that he had in his library, Klaus remembered. It was a book about vampires. Klaus had a collection of vampire books, fascinated with the often inaccurate depiction of vampirism. "You read it?" _That's not possible._

"Not all of it."

"But you can't read," Caroline blurted out again.

"The tutor taught me the sounds letters make and after that it was easy."

Caroline's lips parted, but she was at a loss for words. Was he gifted? Was he lying about not being able to read? _See, this is what happens when you let a kid stay in their room for days and don't bother finding out what he's doing_, she scolded herself. 'Confused' didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling. She opened her mouth to speak, but Klaus raised his index finger and placed it to her lips. Her eyes found him; he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the opened bedroom door, slowly guiding her away from it. _This is way too much to handle first thing in the morning,_ she thought to herself. She wanted to say something, but by that point his entire hand was over her mouth and tightly pressed against her lips.

_What the hell?_

And then she heard it. There was someone inside the house. It couldn't have been his siblings, she thought. Elijah always knocked, and Rebekah and Kol were back in Italy. Someone had managed to get into their house, despite Klaus' claims of an improved security system.

The footsteps made their way upstairs.

Caroline's breathing quickened and she heard Klaus let out a barely audible "shhh."

She took hold of Ethan's hand, dragging him behind her.

Klaus slowly removed his hand from her lips and placed himself in front of her. She couldn't see anything, her eyes covered by his broad shoulders. Frightened, she scrunched up the back of his beige v-neck shirt into the palm of her right hand, her left still holding onto Ethan.

"Nice place you got here," the voice called, now much closer to the bedroom. "Must be nice to be rich."

Caroline shuddered at the deep voice that practically echoed across the castle walls.

"There you are," the voice announced, now in the room.

Caroline stood on her tippy-toes, looking over Klaus' shoulder. With one hand, he pushed her a step back, staying where he was. She saw the man, only for a moment. A moment was all she needed to recognize the tall form and dark features. She had seen him before.

_Connor. _

Before she could utter a word or make a move, she heard a loud noise, followed by the feeling of a sharp pain shooting through her. In a quick second, she noticed Klaus' beige shirt stained with his bright red blood, a little below this ribcage. In that same quick second, she could feel her own blood running down her body and the life draining out of her. The black consumed her, before she had a chance to see if Ethan was okay.

* * *

**Okay, so as you guys can probably tell, some time has passed since Christmas Eve (the last chapter) and klaroline are a little bit closer since then. If it has not been made clear, Elijah's freak out had to do with Connor being one of the five and he informed Klaus of that. Now, Klaus knows that if he kills Connor, he will have to go through hallucinations, like he did for over 52 years (which Caroline doesn't know much about, since he has been reluctant to tell her the details). At this point, they also still don't have their powers or strength, as that has all been taken away. Oh and also, remember, they also don't know about Jeremy and the way he can help stop the hallucinations. Remember on the show, when Elena asked Klaus what made them stop, he didn't know - all he said was that they eventually stopped. So basically, killing Connor is out of the question for both Klaus and Caroline - it's not something they want to do, because they know what it will lead to. Now they're all passed out and beeding out, until the next chapter.**

**Anyways, I'm just going to leave it at that.**

**Please let me know your thoughts! I would really appreciate it!**


	19. The Beast Inside

**You guys, as always, your reviews mean the world to me! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave them for me!**

**This chapter is shorter than I thought it would be, so I'm going to try and make the next one a bit longer. **

**One thing that I want to mention again, before you read this chapter, is a reminder that the things in this story may not always match up to the TVD supernatural rules. This is a fanfic (in other words, my own personal mess of words) and characters will also sometimes be a little different than what you see on TVD.**

**Okay, now that that's out of the way, here is chapter 19. **

* * *

Klaus was woken by the sounds of fiery flames, consuming everything in his surroundings. He got off the floor of his bedroom in a rush, his eyes filled with panic and his lips clenched between his teeth. He looked around, looking for Caroline. He didn't find her. Instead, his eyes met the walls of his bedroom, painted red from the light of the flames. He coughed from the thick air around him, filling his lungs with smoke, quickly suffocating him.

"Caroline!" He called out to her with what felt like his last breath, as he gripped the door handle of his bedroom door, trying his best to force it open.

There was no response from Caroline. The only response was that of the crackling flames and the sound of a door that would not open. He cursed under his breath, giving the door one final push, using all the strength he could find within himself. It remained shut, trapping him and the flames that surrounded him within the walls of his bedroom.

Placing his blood-soaked shirt over his mouth and nose, he made his way to the bedroom window; his last hope. Blood ran down his arms as he punctured the window with his elbow, pieces of glass invading his flesh. A small groan of pain escaped him, but it did not stop him from inflicting further pain on himself, continuing to break down the glass in front of him. Without so much as a final glance to his burning room, he jumped out the window.

In only half a second, his feet hit the ground and he ran. He ran, saving himself, without hesitation.

It was then that the sound of a familiar voice gave him pause.

"Coward," he heard his father yell. His voice was merciless and malicious, holding little pity for his scared wolf-boy son. "Leaving the woman you love to burn," he scolded, his voice growing colder with each word.

"She's not in there," Klaus defended. He looked back to his castle being swallowed by the flames and tested his courage to go back inside; breaking through the falling walls to save the woman he didn't know was there.

Mikael laughed, cruelly. "Don't be so sure, boy."

And with that cruel laugh, Klaus was taken aback by the sound of a desperate scream. Caroline's scream. She was calling for him, trapped amongst the flames.

"Nik," she called him, her voice filled with heart-wrenching despair and struggle.

Without a second thought, Klaus turned to run back into the flames, his legs running before his mind had even made the conscious choice to go back. White ropes pierced through his skin, holding him in place, stopping him from entering the burning castle. It was Mikael holding him back, tightening his grip on the ropes, leaving Klaus utterly hopeless.

"You've made your choice to run," Mikael whispered in Klaus' ear. "Now you must watch her die."

And so he did, he watched her die. He heard her die, screaming his name with her last breath.

"Nik," she screamed.

"Caroline," he yelled back, his voice filled with desperation, as his body failed to make even the slightest move forward.

_Nik. _

"Caroline," he yelled at the top of his lungs, his eyes flashing open. He lunged himself forward, only to be stopped by the tight pain around his wrists, his arms at his sides. "Caroline," he breathed, feeling the blood running down from his wrists.

"Klaus," she called him.

Her voice was soft, no longer yelling. He could tell by her voice that she was closer to him now than she was seconds ago. He looked to where he heard the sound of his name, his eyes widening at the sight. She was across from him, handcuffed to the brick walls of the room that trapped them. "Caroline," he said again, although this time it was a question.

"You were having a nightmare," she told him.

He tried to steady his breathing, looking up to where his hands were. He was handcuffed too, just like Caroline. He leaned his head back, hitting the wall behind him. "That moron injected me with something," he announced quietly, now making the distinction between dream and reality. He gave her another look; her top colored with her blood, her jeans ripped, her hair messy, and her eyes worried. This was his reality. The fire was a dream.

"How do you know?" She asked. She was weak, not having fed for hours – maybe days, she wasn't sure. Aside from that, and being handcuffed and held in what appeared to be a basement or a cellar of some sort, she felt fine. Physically, she was okay. For now.

"I couldn't control the dream," he told her. "I can always control my dreams." He felt weak and his self-awareness was hazy.

"Of course you can," she said under her breath, realizing that he was a lucid dreamer. Was there anything in his life that he didn't feel the need to control, besides his art? She took a second to look at him, tugging on his handcuffs. "While you were taking your nap, I tried that," she told him, her voice laced with annoyance. "Any other ideas?"

He ignored the tone, although it angered him. "What do you want me to do, Caroline?" He couldn't help but reply with the same annoyed tone that she used, although he didn't mean to do this on purpose.

She shrugged. "I was just sitting here thinking and I realized something: you haven't had a plan this entire time," she began venting. "We just ran, we didn't know where, we didn't do anything – we just ran to nowhere."

He listened as she continued ranting, his attention still on the handcuffs. It must have gone on for a minute or two, without stop. A part of him didn't feel the need to reply, knowing that she was just venting out frustrations. Still, the other part of him couldn't help but become angered at the rant she so unkindly directed at him.

"…You have been so nonchalant about this whole thing, barely reacting to anything—"

"I am tired!" He snapped at her, tearing his eyes away from the handcuffs angrily.

She jumped, scared from his sudden outburst.

"This entire god-forsaken world has been after me for a thousand years and I am tired, Caroline!" He yelled at her. "So, forgive my nonchalant attitude towards this abhorrent situation, but I am tired of reacting!"

She stayed silent, recovering from his outburst. He was right, she realized. While this may not have been something that she was used to, this life of running was the only thing he knew and she imagined there was only so long that one could live a life like that without getting fed up. For a moment, she tried to imagine what it must be like to be one against the world, and how terrifying it would be to have no one on your side. At least through all of this she had him. What he said on the road once was true; he was her only constant.

Seeing tears swell up in her eyes, he instantly regretted his shout. His eyes softened, apologetically. There were not enough words in the English language to accurately describe how much he loathed having to apologize. Regardless, he swallowed his dislike, pushing his discomfort as far down as he could. "Don't cry," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

She scoffed, whishing she could wipe away her tears. "I'm not crying over you, you egomaniac," she told him. "I just don't want to be here." She pulled her arms down, but all it did was cause the metal of the handcuffs to break through her skin.

They were silent for a long time, surrounded by the sound of each other's breathing and the echoing of footsteps above them. Caroline silently thought about the two options she had; one, she could own up to being too emotional; two, she could blame it on the withdrawals, from the lack of blood. Either way, she felt guilty for her harshness. She looked at Klaus, but he wasn't looking at her. He appeared to be preoccupied with the handcuffs, although he wasn't getting far with them, He seemed to have forgotten their little spat.

"I never told you," she said. Her soft voice pierced through their silence and Klaus instantly looked away from the handcuffs he was still trying to get out of, his eyes meeting hers. "Thank you for taking me with you. I know it sounds ridiculous saying it now – while we're trapped here – but I'm glad I went with you."

"You're not dying Caroline, you don't need to say this," he replied. The irritation was clear in his voice.

"I just said something nice," she snapped. "Or do you only respond when people are cruel to you?"

He was on edge, she was on edge, Caroline realized. Needless to say, it would be better if they just stayed silent. But, now it was all too late for that.

"I would have taken you whether you wanted to go or not," he told her honestly, his voice now softer than before. "So you see, there is no need to thank me."

She didn't quite know what to say to that, so she said nothing at all. Silently, she wondered how different things would have turned out if she had said no, but he forced her into going with him. Would she feel differently for him now? Would she see him as evil, instead of broken? Maybe, she would hate him. Or – against all odds – maybe she would care for him anyway, despite everything. What would happen if he didn't force her to go with him, and she stayed in Mystic Falls? She quickly started wondering if going with him had changed her in any way. Was she different now than she was when they first left? She didn't think so.

"They didn't happen to mention where Ethan is, did they?" Klaus asked, breaking her train of thought.

She shook her head no, tugging on the handcuffs again. "No ideas on how to get out of these?"

"Just one," he said. He was hoping he wouldn't have to do this. "You'd to best to look away," he told her, his voice warning her.

She kept her eyes on him.

"Do you do the opposite of what I say on purpose, or is it just in you nature?" He asked, the irritation now back in his voice. "Look away."

She looked away and he took a quick breath to prepare himself.

A yell of pain left him and her eyelids flew open. A gasp left her at the sight. He was pulling his hand out of the right handcuff, his bones breaking as he did this. The cuffs cut through his skin, revealing the bones in his wrist, his fingers dislocating to fit through the small circles of the cuffs. She yelled at him to stop, but all he did was bite down on his lower lip, ensuring that he wouldn't make another sound. He proceeded to do the same thing with his other hand, his right still shaking from the pain. She looked away, this time not because he told her to, but because she needed to. She squeezed her eyelids shut, trying to erase the memory of his blood running down his wrists and his exposed bones. She felt sick.

"Please stop," she begged him in a whisper.

"I told you not to look," he replied. His right hand, healing slowly, flew over his left, soothingly trying to dull the pain. He got up, now free from the cuffs, and made his way to her. There was no key that he could find, but there were a number of sharp objects that could be of help to him. He picked one up. He could feel her staring at his wrists as he fiddled with her cuffs. "It'll heal," he told her, hoping it would be enough to get her to look away.

"Doesn't mean that you're immune to pain," she replied. She could hear him flinch from pain as he healed and she could feel pain around her own wrists, like a mirrored reaction.

He freed her left hand and then her right, and she let out a small sigh of relief. His arms came around her waist and helped her up, and they began to make their way out. Hearing the basement door open, Caroline let out a scared gasp, while Klaus remained perfectly composed, as though even after all of this none of it scared him.

A tall, fairly built, man walked through the door. His dark eyes analyzed the area and he didn't bat an eye at the fact that both Caroline and Klaus were on their feet and just about to leave. Caroline guessed that the man was confident that the gun he was holding would protect him.

He was wrong.

In a flash, before Caroline could utter a sound, Klaus had the man against the rough wall of the basement. She could tell his hand was still unhealed, because he flinched from the pain as he did this. The man wasn't down for long, somehow getting the upper hand and pushing Klaus against the wall.

Klaus gave out an arrogant laugh. "You didn't come with backup," he observed. Grabbing the man's arm, he spun him around, getting his gun and throwing it to Caroline. "That was a mistake. I could take you with my bare hands."

By the gun Caroline could tell he was a council member. Her mother had the same gun. She unloaded the vervain bullets. Did her mother know this was happening? Was she somewhere nearby? She didn't have much time to think, hearing the sounds of fists against flesh. Looking up from the gun, she saw the dark-eyed man punch Klaus.

In a quick second anger flared up and invaded every inch of her. It took her over and she couldn't control it. It was as though her skin was on fire and she itched to inflict pain, to take out her frustrations on her situation. Without so much as a rational thought, she grabbed the dark-eyed man by the shoulders. Using as much strength as she could gather, she raised her leg, hitting him in the groin. She felt better. She did it again, and this time he fell to his knees.

"You don't get to hurt him," she told the dark-eyed man in one breath. Still angry, she pushed the man forward, leaving him to groan in pain, practically in a fetal position. Her chest rose and fell quickly, and her eyes found Klaus, who looked at her with complete and utter surprise. She wanted to say something, but she was at a loss for words, having little idea of why she had this particular reaction. She moved her hair out of her face, looking for the gun she had dropped on the floor.

She looked up to a sudden loud sound, like gunfire. Her eyes searched for Klaus. She found him; struggling to get off the floor, now bleeding and wounded. Veins appeared on his face and he was quickly loosing his color, as though he was dying. She turned to where he was looking and her eyes were met with yet another man, who was not Connor. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place a finger on it. Not having the time to stand there and attempt to figure it out, she pushed those thoughts out of her head.

"What did you do to him!?" She asked, yelling.

"It's a full moon," the man said. "Inject a hybrid with Wolfsbane, on a full moon, and he becomes so weak that he cannot control the need to turn into the monster he is."

"Why are you doing this?" She demanded, trying to drown out the sound of Klaus' groan, realizing that his bones were beginning to break, about to take on their wolf form. "Why are you torturing us? You want to kill us, just do it already!"

"Watching him kill you would be much more fun, don't you think, Caroline?" The man replied, sadistically, his voice sinister and filled with an unspeakable amount of hatred.

"You know who I am," she realized. He looked familiar because she had seen him before, she guessed. Still, she couldn't place it. "You know who my mother is," she voiced something she thought might get them to let her and Klaus go.

"She's not your mother anymore," the man she had kicked in the groin said through clenched teeth, now getting up. "Not after you left with him."

Her lips parted and for a split second she could almost feel her heart breaking. She always understood that her choice to leave with Klaus would have repercussions, but she never once thought that her mother would turn on her for it – not again, not after all they had been through. Her surroundings became blurred as her eyes watered, but she remained perfectly still. For a moment, she imagined trying to fight both of them off. It was useless, she realized. There were two of them and only one of her, and Klaus was in no position to help her. Klaus! She turned back to him, his body still transitioning. He was in pain and she didn't know what to do to help him.

The men walked out and the large door closed behind them, trapping her in the room with the creature Klaus was becoming. His eyes yellowed and his teeth became inhuman, and she quickly understood just how capable he was of killing her, now that they were left in a room together. She ran to the door, trying to pry the locks open, but it was no use. She could hear Klaus' animalistic growl, as she pressed her nose into the door, hoping that some miracle would happen to make this nightmare end.

His transition happened quickly, much quicker than Tyler's ever did. This left her with little time for final thoughts, her scared eyes drifting to his angered animal ones. They were colored a bright yellow and highlighted with more anger than she had ever seen. Where, before, she saw humanity, she now saw a beast. A beast in his true form. Unable to look away, she pressed herself into the metal doors of the room, as though her last hope was to simply fall through them.

He lunged forward and she let out a scared scream, going weak at the knees. Her eyes shut in fear, pushing tears out of her eyes and onto her cheeks, as she quickly realized this was the end.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I know it was a bit short, but I hope to make up for it with the next chapter. **

**Also, if any of you are hating on Liz right now, after what that man told Caroline, you might want to give it a few more chapters before your witer her off. Keep in mind that Liz isn't there to defend herself and Caroline is good at making (sometime false, sometimes not so false) assumptions. **

**Anyways, please, please leave your thoughts in a review! *begs***

**if you haven't already, check out my klaroline tumblr blog: i-enjoy-you**


	20. Guidebook to Hysteria

**Wow, you guys, I really just need to thank you all again for the wonderful reviews you have left for me! I can't even thank you enough for taking the time to write them out for me and being so wonderful to me. I really appreciate it so much! I can't even begin to explain how happy it makes me that, out of all the amazing stories out there, you are taking time out of your day to read one of mine!**

**Chapter 20, hope you guys like it :)**

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Caroline's eyes shut as she mentally prepared herself. She mentally prepared for the pain he would inflict on her as he tore her apart. She prepared for the sharp feeling of his teeth breaking through her skin. She prepared for the agonizing pain, stopped only by the release of death. With a loud scream, she felt herself being thrown to the side. Curling up, fearfully, she waited.

She waited, but nothing happened.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, her breathing heavy. The door was open and Klaus was nowhere in sight. She sat up slowly, confused. Her hands were placed behind her, keeping her up, somewhat swollen from the harsh, dirty, ground beneath her.

"What the hell?" She whispered under her breath.

Then, all too suddenly, he burst through the door. Feeling a sharp pain around her neck, she let out another scream. It was with that scream that her world went black. There was no longer a fear, and there was no longer pain. Only darkness.

* * *

Caroline could feel the ground beneath her, damp and uneven. With her eyelids still heavy, she reluctantly opened them, a tired moan leaving her. She could feel a pain on the back of her neck and her hand gravitated there. It was the only thing she needed to jolt her back to reality, away from the darkness of her empty dreams. She rubbed her neck soothingly. There was no wound – she must have healed already – but there was a trace of blood. Her fingertips were red, colored by it, when she removed them from her neck.

Hearing a low growl, she looked up. It was night and dark, but she could see the yellow eyes that glared at her, animalistic and untamed.

"Klaus?" She asked. Her voice was shaky and quiet. For a moment, she was scared again. Scared of what he could do to her. It was only after the initial fear that she realized he had the opportunity to hurt her, had he wanted to.

Not a sound was made.

Giving herself a chance to look at the beast he became, it was the first time she noticed that he looked different from any werewolf she had previously encountered. The most obvious difference was the color; his fur a snowy white, not black. It stood out amongst the darkness that surrounded him. Around his eyes was a dark grey outline, much like the one around his black nose. He was muscular and strong, as though he was able to take on anything that came after him. Much like in his human form, his stance was confident and he looked absolutely fearless.

With her knees still on the ground, she moved closer to him. It was only a step or two, until they were nose to nose. She could feel his breath on her. His yellow eyes never left hers. No matter how untamed and animalistic they were, she couldn't help but notice their beauty. They weren't just yellow, they were golden and sparkled against the night sky, with a dark brown rim. If she looked carefully, she could almost see the reflection of her own beaten down face. His eyes weren't as angry as she first thought. Rather, they showed that he was guarded.

Raising a hand to him, he made another low growl and she fearfully shifted away, only about half a step. A light gasp escaped her as she did this. She blinked twice, not saying a word. He remained where he was, so she moved forward again. This time, when she raised a hand to him, he didn't make a sound or a move. She swallowed her distant fear of him and placed a hand to his thick white coat, her fingers intertwining in it. Still nose to nose with him, she was close enough to notice other small details of his wolf form. Details such as a small black spot a little above his nose, similar to what a beauty mark would look like on a human. It was unique and different, just like him.

"You're beautiful," she whispered softly. In that one small moment, she didn't care about what she was supposed to do, how she was supposed to feel, and how she was supposed to react to all of this. There never was a Klaus Mikaelson guide book, was there? Perhaps if there was, it would be easier for her to deal with the inner turmoil of caring for him. She wasn't sure that he could understand or hear her, or that any of this would be remembered in a few days time, but it didn't matter. She said it because she felt it, despite her better judgment of remaining distant.

The moment was ruined with a loud growl that escaped him and she yelped in fear, throwing herself a step or two back. Her eyes still on him, she saw that he wasn't looking at her. His teeth were animalistic and sharp, exposed. Before she could even turn back to see what he was looking at, he ran forward in attack.

Turning around, she saw Connor on the floor, fighting for his life. Just then, all too suddenly, Caroline saw a flash before her eyes. She blinked, seeing Elijah throw Klaus off Connor. It all happened to fast, in half a second at most, it felt like. With Klaus out of the way, she saw Connor's chewed up throat, blood pouring to the ground, like an endless flow of red. Her breathing erratic, she hoped – prayed, even – that he wasn't dead.

"You need to get home," Elijah instructed, with his eyes still on Connor's lifeless body.

"He's dead?" She asked, ignoring the command. She looked around for Klaus, but he was no longer anywhere to be found.

"Yes," Elijah replied stiffly.

Her heart fell to her feet, her nerves making her go weak at the knees. "What's going to happen to Klaus?" She asked, remembering that the last time Klaus killed a hunter he was left with agonizing hallucinations. Maybe, if he was lucky, these rules didn't apply to those who killed hunters in wolf form. Then again, animals – just like humans – were subject to hysteria, were they not?

Elijah was silent for a moment, contemplating the question. "The same thing that happened last time," he replied, his voice haunting and almost fearful.

"How do you make them stop?"

"You don't," he replied. "They stop on their own," he explained, remembering the fifty two years he had spent looking for a way to help his brother. He took a breath. "You need to leave," he said again.

"Why didn't he kill me?" She asked, once again ignoring the command.

"It is in a wolf's nature to protect the one they have chosen as their mate," he replied effortlessly. Quite frankly, he didn't care how what he said made her feel; scared, nervous, happy. If she was going to ask questions, she should be prepared for truthful answers that were not censored to suit whatever feelings she may have.

Her breathing hitched, her mind going blank. This was all too much for her at the moment and the last thing she needed was to spend this exact moment sorting out Klaus' feelings for her, or her feelings for him. She watched Elijah for a moment, as he bent down and emptied Connor's pockets. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Cleaning up Klaus' mess," he replied, as though this was nothing new. He gave her one final look. This time, it was harsh and not one he would allow her to ignore. "Leave," he said. "I'll find him."

* * *

Caroline leaned back on the chair by his bed, her eyes never leaving Klaus. He looked peaceful, almost like a child, now sleeping in his large bed. Seeing him now, it was hard to believe he was this big-bad-hybrid-Klaus-Mikaelson. No, right now he was just a man. He was a man that protected her when she was sure that he wouldn't. He would always protect her. She should have trusted him. He would protect her, no matter what it would cost him. Killing Connor made that perfectly clear.

And it would cost him, she thought. He would soon have to pay the price for killing the hunter and it was her fault, she thought to herself.

She got off the chair, seeing his wrists still stained red. She came back a few moments later, a damp towel in hand, and sat back down.

"What are you doing?" He asked sleepily, feeling her hands on his wrist.

She raised her head from his wrist, her eyes finding his. She smiled, because despite everything that she knew was about to happen, she was happy to see his blue eyes looking at her. She pressed her lips between her teeth, effectively causing the smile to disappear. Forcing herself to go back to the seriousness of their situation, she cleared her throat. "I couldn't look at it anymore," she explained, scrubbing the blood away. "I didn't mean to wake you."

He kept his eyes on her. Her hair was wet and he could smell the shampoo in her hair, telling him that she had just gotten out of the shower. She was wearing his blue shirt, he observed. With her skin still wet, it clung to her body. The water drops fell from her hair, as she lightly scrubbed at the blood staining his skin. She had no make up on and she looked tired, indicating that she had likely stayed up the majority of the night – or nights, he wasn't sure.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She smiled sadly. After everything that just happened, he was asking how _she_ was. Knowing what he had done, he was asking how she was doing. "I thought you were going to kill me," she replied honestly.

"I know."

His voice didn't carry a hint of anger at her thinking the worst of him. Rather, he just sounded like he accepted it, although he was likely saddened by it. It made her feel even guiltier for not trusting him. She should have. In all the time that they've been running, he's done nothing to make her think that he would hurt her. "When Tyler turned, I had to leave…otherwise he would have hurt me," she explained.

"I'm not Tyler," he replied calmly. She only nodded in response, so he decided to change the subject to something that was of greater concern to him. "How's Ethan?"

"He's with Elijah," she told him.

"He's okay?"

She hesitated. "Yeah, Connor didn't hurt him. Elijah compelled him to forget what happened." She wasn't entirely happy with this decision of Elijah's, but her options were limited. Had he not compelled him, Ethan would have definitely needed therapy after this ordeal – years of it, maybe. "I'm thinking about asking him to take away the vampire questions," she confessed in a quiet voice.

He removed his wrist from her grasp.

She looked up at him, surprised by the sudden movement. "Or, do you want him to know?"

"He might be okay with it," he replied. And if he wasn't, they could compel him to be, he thought. It wasn't his most ethical solution, but hell – when did he ever give ethics great importance?

"Or traumatized by it," she countered.

"We won't know until we tell him."

She said nothing, taking his wrist back into her grasp. He pulled it away and she looked at him.

"I can do it myself," he explained, uncomfortable at being babied. He got out of the bed, finding his jeans. He could feel her eyes on him as he did this. "Are you okay?" He asked again.

"I'm fine," she told him. Silently she wondered why he was pretending like he hadn't killed the hunter. Was this part of his 'tired of reacting' thing? She said nothing, continuing to look at him as he made his way into the bathroom. She followed him, watching him get into the shower. The water hit him, washing everything away. "Are _you _okay?" She asked, her voice filled with caution.

He placed his hand on the shower knob, turning off the water so that he could reply. Before he could make a sound, the knob broke off. He glanced at it, in the palm of his right hand. He gave Caroline a confused look and she mirrored it.

"Strength is back?" She asked.

"I think so," he replied, getting out of the shower and slipping into his jeans.

She cleared her throat, uncomfortable. "Would have been helpful yesterday, right?" She asked, hoping it would elicit a reaction. "Maybe you wouldn't have killed the hunter, then…"

His head snapped up from the zipper of his jeans. "I did what?"

She inhaled a sharp breath. "You don't remember," she realized. Suddenly, she became even more nervous than before, worried about his reaction and what was to be done next. "You killed Connor," she whispered.

She watched his expression shift slowly as the weight of her words kicked in. He went white and she could swear his bottom lip shook lightly. If she read his look correctly, it was fear that danced in his eyes. She couldn't be completely sure, because she had never seen it before. His bottom lip quivered lightly and he bit down on it, making her incredibly uncomfortable, not knowing how to make this better for him, and not knowing what to do next. She moved towards him, but he stepped back.

"Does Elijah know?" He asked.

Her eyes widened, surprised that Elijah was the first one on his mind. "Yes," she replied. She flinched from the sharp sound of the shower handle hitting the bathtub as he threw it and made a sharp turn out of the bathroom. She watched him race down the spiraling staircase. "Where are you going?" She called out to him.

* * *

There was a room in the basement that Caroline had never been in before, it turned out. Walking in, it was a plain room; no windows, no sharp objects, a bed. Unlike the rest of the basement, it was almost civil looking. It wasn't dark or creepy looking, like the rest of the basement. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why he had created this room when designing the layout of this castle. Was it meant for his victims? Was it meant for him? Did he know something like this could happen to him again? She kept her questions to herself, knowing this wasn't an appropriate time to ask them.

Right now, she was in the middle of an argument with Elijah, who had burst through the doors only minutes ago, and Klaus, who was waiting for his life to fall apart at the seams.

"You need to leave, Caroline," Elijah told her. His voice was firm and his tone indicated that what he said was very much a command, not subject to any type of debate.

"No," she replied stubbornly. Demonstratively, she sat down on the bed, right next to Klaus.

Klaus got off the bed. "Caroline, please leave." He tried his best to be convincing, not letting it be known that he wanted her to stay.

"What's going to happen to you?" She asked, her voice shaky and nervous. She got off the bed.

"Nothing that you need to see," Elijah replied. He took a step towards her, wanting to take her by the arm and calmly take her out of the room, but she stepped back. He raised a brow at her move, staying where he was.

"What is going to happen?" She asked again, this time more forcefully. She watched Klaus lower his head and find the floor beneath his feet, and with that she understood that it would be bad. "I want to stay with you," she told him.

"You need to leave," he told her again. "You can trust me when I say that staying will end up being one of your biggest regrets."

Elijah took another step towards her and she sharply stepped back. He raised a hand to take hold of her arm and she raised it in response. "I swear to god, if you touch me…" She warned. She watched him take a step back and raise his hands slightly in surrender. He looked to Klaus, giving him a 'how do you deal with her' type of expression. She kept her eyes on Elijah, but it appeared that Klaus had done something, standing behind her, that made it clear he was allowing her to stay, because Elijah made his way out of the room, closing the door behind him calmly.

"So I can stay?" She asked.

"It doesn't appear that you're really asking me, love."

She sat down on the bed. "What happened last time?" She asked.

He didn't say anything, sitting down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

She didn't press further, deciding that maybe he needed a distraction, not a reminder. For the first time in her life, she couldn't quite think of anything to say to him, or anyone else. How do you distract a man who knows his life is about to be shattered into pieces? She watched him as he sat, literally waiting for it to happen, and she couldn't think of a single way to comfort him.

She turned her head to the sound of the door opening. Seeing that it was Elijah, she got ready to protest and make a scene, but all he did was hold something out to her. She looked at it; it was clothes. It was then that she realized she was still only in Klaus' shirt. She was so preoccupied with everything that she had completely forgotten what she looked like.

"Thank you," she said in a whisper, taking the clothes from him.

He nodded, giving her a silent _you're welcome_, before walking out.

She looked at what he gave her; a beige sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans. She put them on and sat back down on the bed. Silence filled the room for a long time, maybe an hour or two, before Caroline finally broke it. "Why do you wear those?" She asked, pointing to a few necklaces around his neck.

He lowered his head, giving the necklaces a quick look. "You've been asking a lot of questions about me lately," he observed.

She shrugged. "That's how you connect with people."

He thought about her words for a long few minutes, before replying. "Which one, specifically?"

She got off the bed and sat down on the floor next to him. There were three around his neck, two looked expensive, and the other just looked really old. She took it between her fingers, analyzing it. It appeared to just be a plain rope-like string with a strange looking stone attached to it. It had a symbol of some sort, but she couldn't understand what it meant. "This one," she told him.

He hesitated, somewhat uncomfortable at the story behind it. "Someone that I once gave great importance to gave it to me," he explained. He took it off and gave it to her.

"A woman?" She only asked because it seemed strange to her that a man would give another man a necklace.

"Yes."

"Your mom?"

He smiled at the innocence of her question. "No."

"Tatia?" It was intended to be mentioned casually and calmly, but she accidently blurted it out.

His eyes widened in surprise and his lips parted, yet words failed to form. Instantly, questions formed in his mind, wondering how much else she knew about him.

"Elena told me," she explained.

"What else did Elena tell you?"

"Just that you loved this Tatia person," she told him, her eyes still on the necklace.

Again, he hesitated. "I did," he replied reluctantly, "many lifetimes ago."

Looking at him, he looked almost sad at the memory. "Do you still love her?"

For a second, she was scared of the answer. She didn't want him to love Tatia. She didn't want him to love any woman. She wanted him to love her, she thought. The last thought left her terrified and she pushed it down to the darkest part within herself and wished that she could forget ever thinking something like that. She didn't want him to love her, she lied. Why would she want him to love her? No, she didn't want him to love her at all, she lied again.

"No, I don't," he replied calmly, without hesitation.

"Did she love you?" She asked, cautiously.

He paused to think about the question. "No," he replied honestly, somewhat sadly.

And there was that glimmer of sadness again. She understood it better now. It wasn't there because he still loved her, but rather because he once loved her, and she didn't love him back.

And with that thought, her mouth opened and she said something. For the life of her she couldn't understand why she had said this – what compelled her to say these words out loud. Was it guilt? After all, this was happening to him because he protected her. Maybe it was temporary insanity. Temporary insanity was likely, she decided.

"It was her loss," she replied softly.

He could swear that with those words he stopped breathing. A thousand arguments about how wrong she was popped into his head. He remained completely still and quiet. A long moment later, he decided to take it for what it was: a nice moment. He didn't need to ruin it by proving her wrong.

"Thank you," he said. It was barely audible, because he didn't know how else to reply to something like this.

Given that she had already thought some things that she shouldn't have thought, and then said some things she shouldn't have said, she decided doing one more thing she shouldn't do wouldn't do much harm. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder and he leaned into her. It was absolutely terrifying how natural this gesture seemed. It was as though she had waited her entire life to lean on him and have him lean on her. Her eyes watered and her eyelids grew heavy. Her bottom lip quivered, keeping her tears from escaping her eyes.

"This is my fault," she said.

"It's not," he replied.

She could literally feel the fear that vibrated off him as he said this. She had no idea what was about to happen, but he did. He knew and it scared him. She bit down on her lip, hoping the self-inflicted physical pain would distract her from the torture of guilt and fear.

"You're going to be okay," she told him. She said this for herself just as much as she said it for him. "I'll be here with you, if that helps you," she promised.

"You should go," he whispered. This was the first time in more years than he could count in one breath that he was completely and utterly torn. He was torn by the overwhelming desire to have her stay – to be in such close proximity to her, as she rested her head on his shoulder - and the equally overwhelming desire not to hurt her as he began to lose touch with reality.

"Not yet," she replied.

To her surprise, he didn't protest, so she stayed. Silence filled the room and Caroline looked down at the necklace that was still in her hand, wrapped around her fingers. She wrapped it around her wrist, like a bracelet. Silently, she wondered if Tatia really had not loved him, or if Klaus had simply made this assumption on his own. After all, despite everything Elijah had done for him, she was certain that Klaus still did not see this as love. He was foolish that way, she thought. This was her last coherent thought, before her eyelids began to close and she fell asleep, amongst all the waiting.

* * *

Caroline woke up with a loud gasp, air failing to reach her lungs. She was pressed up against the wall, Klaus' hand firmly around her neck. She tried to get air into her lungs but his grip made it next to impossible. Even though she was stronger now than she was yesterday, with their strength back, he was still very much stronger than her. She coughed, trying to get his hand off her neck.

His eyes were cold and merciless, making it clear that he was no longer himself. Somewhere between their talk and now, he left her. He was clearly gone, with his eyes so painfully dark and dangerous.

"Klaus, it's me," she choked out, still hopeful that he wouldn't hurt her. "Klaus, please."

"Tell me now, sweetheart," he said in a deep voice. "Did you enjoy having me wrapped around your finger?"

Her eyes opened wider at his words, her fingers still trying to pry his away. She couldn't help but question who he thought she was. "Please," she begged again, but it was useless. She didn't want to do this, but it was starting to look like her only hope of getting out of the room. Using as much strength as she could gather, she raised her leg and pushed against his stomach, forcing him away from her. Keeping her need to survive at the forefront of her brain, she ran out of the room.

She could feel him running after her.

"Elijah!" She screamed as loudly as her lungs allowed, hoping he was still in the house.

* * *

**Just so you all know, it will get a little dark and gory for the next little bit. If you guys have a problem with that, please LMK and I will try to tone it down as best as I can, as to not gross you guys out!**

**Please, please, LMK how you feel about this chapter and this turn in the story! I would appreciate it so much. **

**Edit - you'll see a bit of Ethan in the next chapter, for those wondering. I know some people really like him, while others don't really care about him, so I don't want to include him in every chapter and every scene, because I don't want people to feel like I'm forcing his character on them. Just FYI. **


	21. A Choice

**As always, thank you so much for the lovely reviews! They mean so much to me and make me so happy! You guys are amazing, really :)**

**I really wanted to have this chapter up for you guys before classes start, so here it is. I hope you enjoy! **

* * *

Caroline ran with as much speed as she could gather, her voice calling out to her last hope: Elijah. She ran down the long basement hallway, dirty and damp, frightening and dark. With her final yell, Klaus caught up to her, catching her from behind. His hand came around her mouth tightly, stifling a scream.

"I would have done anything for you," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

She shook under his grasp, feeling his breath on her neck, heavy and filled with rage. She wanted to say his name, to talk some sanity into him, but she couldn't. His cold hands tightly pressing into her lips, keeping her mouth shut.

In a flash, he released her. A loud growl escaped him and she flinched at the sound. Opening her eyes, she saw Elijah pressing Klaus into the rough wall of the basement, his arm at Klaus' neck.

Klaus fought against him, his hand over Elijah's arm. With his strength back, he was almost at an even playing field with Elijah. He pried Elijah's arm from his neck. With a loud hiss, Elijah released his fangs. His eyes instantly went red and bloody, the veins under his eyes distinct and dangerous. His look enraged, his growl echoed along the narrow basement hallway. Seeing the surprise in his brother's eyes, he growled again, making his fangs even more visible.

Caroline didn't breathe, taken by surprise at how Elijah was handling the situation. It was very unlike him, to drop his controlled behaviour and take on such an animalistic persona. Watching Klaus relax under his brother's grasp, she saw that Elijah's plan had worked. She kept her eyes on Klaus, who was now looking at her, his look apologetic and recovering from confusion, understanding it was all a hallucination. His first one.

"Caroline," he said her name quietly. Elijah placed both hands on Klaus, turning him around and walking him back to the room, but his eyes were still on her. "Caroline, I didn't know," he pleaded.

"I know," she walked after them. "You didn't know it was me, I understand," she assured him. Elijah made an abrupt stop and she gasped, almost bumping into him. With her hands in front of her, she lightly touched his perfectly tailored suit, barely wrinkled from the struggle that had occurred only seconds ago.

"Stay here," he instructed.

She listened this time, staying where she was, watching him take Klaus away.

* * *

Caroline sat in the living room, her elbows against her knees, her legs shaking beneath her. With her head in the palms of her hands, she stared blankly at the ground. She was too nervous to form even the smallest coherent thought. Seeing a shadow, she raised her head up. Elijah stood before her with a cup of…something. She raised her brows at him.

"Tea," he answered the unspoken question.

"First you're mean and now you're offering me tea…" she trailed off, letting the sentence hang in mid air for a long second, before taking the cup.

In its own unspoken way, the gesture showed Elijah she was not angry with him. He sat down next to her. Looking to the coffee table, he saw the necklace – Klaus' necklace, the one Tatia had once given him. "I apologize for being harsh with you," he said, ignoring the many thoughts this antique object elicited in his mind.

The apology slipped out of his mouth much easier than it ever would with Klaus, Caroline noticed. He didn't appear to dislike saying this to her, or admitting his blame. It didn't make him uncomfortable, like it did Klaus. "You don't have to say that, I know it's hard for you too," she replied, taking a sip of her tea. It felt wrong sitting there, drinking tea, and knowing Klaus was coming apart at the seams just one floor below her. She placed the cup on the coffee table, suddenly disgusted with herself for taking the sip in the first place.

"Kol and Rebekah returned," Elijah began, ignoring the abrupt way that she placed the cup of tea on the table. With his index finger he moved the necklace that rested on the same table about two inches to the left, insuring it would not be ruined. "Ethan is with them now, in case you were wondering."

"Oh, god," she groaned, placing her head in the palm of her hands again. "I forgot about him," she whispered. It was a whisper tainted with self-hatred and desperation. She rubbed her eyes, explaining, "I'm not good at this. I-I-I don't know what to do with him. It was…it was Klaus' idea to take him."

Elijah shrugged. "Short of compulsion, there isn't much help I can offer you with him."

Hearing an agonizing scream, filled with more desperation than she had ever heard, she quickly got off the couch. She shook off Elijah's grasp on her wrist, as he attempted to keep her in place, and began walking out of the living room.

He was in front of her in a flash, exercising his vampire speed. "I'm afraid I can't let you go there," he explained, staying in front of her.

The screams were still present and she felt guilt swell up in the pit of her stomach. "I want to be there with him."

"He asked that I make sure you don't," Elijah confessed.

"You're lying."

"No," he replied firmly, because he wasn't lying at all. In fact, the accusation made him uncomfortable, seeing as he had no reason to lie to her. It was one thing to admit to something he had done wrong, but something entirely different to take responsibility for a wrongdoing he had not committed. "I'm not lying."

She took a breath in exasperation. "Well I can't sit here drinking tea, hearing those noises come out of that room!" He said nothing, making it clear to her that he wasn't going to budge. "I won't go into the room," she promised. "You said the door is locked, he can't get out. I'll stay outside. You have the key – it's not like I can unlock the door, even if I wanted to."

"No, Caroline."

It was then that a horrific thought entered her mind. "How long did this last before? 52 years, you said, right?"

Elijah nodded.

"Are you telling me that for 52 years you had him locked up, on his own?"

"We were otherwise preoccupied looking for a way to relieve him of his torture," Elijah defended. "Before we made the decision to lock him up, he came after each of us at least once," he added. Truthfully, Klaus was not alone for all 52 years, but Elijah wasn't about to sit down and waste time explaining past history to her, as though he had nothing better to do. What happened in the past cannot be fixed; therefore, should not be talked about.

"So you just left him?" She asked again, her tone filled with judgment. "No wonder he thinks none of you love him!" She raised her voice, angry. She watched Elijah's expression suddenly shift. With this shift, she understood that she had just made him vulnerable. Family was a weakness of his, just as it was Klaus'. "I'm staying outside his room," she said again. This time, she had made it clear there was little he could do to stop her, short of daggering her. And with that, she walked passed him and into the basement. He didn't follow her, but she was certain that he was listening to every move she made.

* * *

Klaus' screams were the most agonizing she had ever heard in her life. Like a little girl, she covered her ears lightly as she made her way down the basement hallway she hated so much. Standing in front of his room, she touched the door with her hand. Silently she hoped some miracle would happen and he would know she was there. He didn't, because he continued being tortured by his own demons, despite the fact that she was standing right outside the door. She could hear him apologizing for something, but she didn't know what. It was heartbreaking, hearing the crack in his voice.

"I'm sorry," Klaus pleaded. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

"You killed me," the small voice croaked out.

Klaus watched the boy cry, small and weak, with blood streaming from his open wounds. The blood wouldn't stop, pouring to the ground in a large puddle. Looking at it, Klaus could see his own reflection. The reflection of a monster. Captivated by it, for a reason he could not understand, he bent his legs at the knees and sat down, getting a closer look at himself and the monster he was. Bringing his index finger from his clenched fist, he ran it across the puddle of blood. It was interestingly soothing, so he did it again. Lifting his hand, he watched the blood trickle down from the tip of his index finger down his hand.

"That's my blood you're playing with," the boy scolded, angrily.

Klaus wiped the blood on his jeans and got up, being brought back to his reality. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I never wanted you to die, Henrik," he explained. "I didn't mean for any of that to happen!"

"You know," Henrik began, raising his index finger informatively, "if it wasn't for my death – a death that you caused, brother – mother never would have had you turn into a vampire – or Elijah, Rebekah, Finn, or Kol."

"I know," Kaus whispered in response to his brother's truthful comment.

"You not only killed me, but you ruined the lives of our brothers and sister." Suddenly, a sadistic smile pierced through his face. "But I suppose it is somewhat forgiven, as you have also ruined your own life in the process!"

Klaus nodded his head, knowing his brother was right. While his human form rendered him weak and practically useless, at least he was more at peace with himself. Sure, his father hated him and his mother ignored him, but at least they weren't plotting his death. "Life was easier human," he said as though it was a brand new realization, one he had never made before.

"It was, but it's too late now, brother," Henrik dismissed. "You don't like your life now, do you?"

As though hypnotized, Klaus shook his head.

"You're unhappy," Henrik continued. This wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You wish you were dead." Another statement. "You _want_ to kill yourself."

"No," Klaus replied, with a surprising amount of strength.

It was then that a sudden shift in Henrik's expression occurred. When, before, he was calm, now he appeared to be growing angrier. His expression became dark and bitter. "You will die," he said. "It's only fair – you're death for mine."

Caroline gasped to the loud sound of something hitting the wall, inside the room. She fought with herself, knowing she wasn't allowed in the room. All she could do was listen. Listen to the sound of him screaming in pain.

He should die. He knew that. Recovering from the previous blow, he hit his head against the brick wall again. He had done this four times already, getting weaker with each blow. He needed Henrik to go away. He could still hear his screams as the wolves tore him apart. He needed the screams to stop echoing all around him. Each time his head collided with the brick wall, the screams stopped. They stopped only for a few moments, before he recovered.

He sat down, leaning against the wall now, barely able to form a coherent thought. With the back of his hand, he wiped the blood that came to his eyes from the large, self-inflicted, wound on his forehead. Placing his fingers into the wound, he could feel his scull amongst the blood and skin tissue. He had managed to inflict a crack that was slowly healing, his finger still pressed to it. It was excruciatingly painful, but at least Henrik's yells stopped. All the yells had stopped. At least for now.

Tears rolled down Caroline's face, still sitting outside the door. He had finally stopped screaming, but these screams would forever be imprinted in her memory, in her very core. "Klaus," she whispered, with her voice shaky and filled with pain. "Can you hear me?"

She could hear a small moan in response.

"Klaus," she said – louder, this time. "It's me, I'm here with you," she explained, practically pressing her nose against the door.

Exhausted, he leaned his head against the brick wall, his wound still healing. He removed his hand, allowing it to heal faster. "Caroline," he replied back. The response sounded more like a question.

The hope his tone carried was even more heartbreaking. She bit down on her lip, stopping a cry from leaving her. Who the hell was she to cry, when she was sitting there – in her right mind – and he was rapidly falling towards insanity? How selfish was she, crying like that? Sniffing, she smiled a little, knowing he heard her_. That's a good sign_, she told herself.

"Maybe, if you focus on me, you'll stop paying attention to whatever is making you upset," she suggested, her voice hopeful and almost childish. Maybe it was stupid, but she had no ideas on how to help him.

He smiled lightly, with his eyes watery. "And how am I supposed to know you're really here?"

She paused, not knowing what to say. Tears streamed down her face, despite her best efforts to stop them. "You just are," she replied, after a short pause. "You just trust me."

He scoffed with a laugh, laced with disbelief. _Right, as though it is all that simple._

"It's not funny," she told him, somewhat offended by his response. "Trust is a choice," she said with confidence. "It's a choice and you just choose to trust me more than you trust whatever is in your head."

"And if you leave…?"

She leaned against his door, making herself as comfortable as she could on the damp and dirty floor. "I won't," she told him. "I promise."

* * *

"Caroline," Elijah whispered her name, shaking her awake.

Sleepily, she raised her head from the wall she was leaning against. "What's wrong?" She asked.

He paused at the question. There were too many things wrong. She had been staying outside his room for nine days and three hours. Never once had she come back upstairs since the last time she left. He had made his way down every day, to make sure they were both alright and had everything they needed, but she never followed him back upstairs. She looked different today, he observed. Less hopeful, somehow. More broken and battered than yesterday. Nine days later, this was taking a more noticeable toll on her.

"How are you?" He asked, although he guessed that he already knew the answer.

Lingering between them was the sound of Klaus talking to himself – or to whatever he thought was in the room with him.

"I told him trust was a choice and that if he trusted that I'm here then maybe he would know that I'm real, and everything else is not," she explained, sitting up. She shook her head sadly, listening to Klaus' ramblings behind the closed door. "He doesn't trust me," she said.

Bending his legs at the knees, Elijah sat before her, so her eyes looked directly at his. "I'm afraid I must disagree with you, Caroline." He said, looking directly at her. "Trust is not always a choice. One cannot wake up one day and choose to trust those that have wronged them. It's not that easy, nor that simple. Trust is a choice only if it is first earned by those that seek it," he told her.

"I'm trying," she told him. "I'm still here. Sometimes, he feels better and I talk to him and he knows that I'm still here."

He sighed. "For many years, Rebekah, Kol, and I tried everything we could think of to help him. We've each stayed with him, separated by a wall quite similar to this. It did not work"

"You're telling me there is nothing I can do?" She refused to accept this.

He sighed heavily, again "I've come across some information," he informed, his voice lowered. Standing up, he extended a hand towards her. She took it and he helped her up, before explaining. "One of us needs to return to Mystic Falls," he said.

* * *

Elijah had allowed her into Klaus' room, provided that he was allowed to stay right outside. She was to say her goodbyes, they decided.

Quietly opening the door, she walked in. It was silent now, with Klaus stretched out on the bed. He was quiet, sleeping. If there was anything tormenting him in his dreams, it was not obvious to her. He looked peaceful, at least for now. She walked over to the bed, sitting on it. He looked tired, she observed. He was bloody, although there were no longer any wounds. She could see the faint remains of a wound across his neck, and blood spattered on his face and hands. Looking around the room, there were no sharp edges or anything he could use to harm himself with. Every wound that was inflicted on his body was inflicted with his own two hands, she realized.

"If you're in my head then that's just cruel," Klaus whispered, breaking her into her thoughts. His eyes were still closed and his words barely audible. He could smell her.

"No, I'm here," she promised. She quickly placed a hand over his in reassurance, but he kept his eyes closed.

"You stayed."

"I told you that I would." Somewhat fearfully, afraid he might begin hallucinating again, she placed a hand over his forehead. With her index finger, she ran it over the dried blood from his healed wound. "Why did you do this?" She asked.

"It makes everything stop for a little while," he replied.

There was so much she wanted to say, but she knew she didn't have much time. She wasn't sure how much longer he would be okay, before he snapped again. She had to get right to the point. That was the deal she made with Elijah, and she knew he was likely listening behind the door.

"I'm leaving," she whispered. He opened his eyes, looking at her, and her heart broke at the tired expression they held. They were watery and pink, making the blue color of his eyes stand out even more. She guessed that he didn't have the energy to hide his emotions, which is why his sadness was so clear. "Not because of you," she assured him before he could say anything. "I just have to go, that's all."

"Where?"

She hesitated. "Mystic Falls."

He sat up at her words, rubbing his eyes until it no longer hurt to keep them open. "No," he told her.

"I don't think you're in any position to say no," she replied.

"No," he said again.

"Elijah said that—"

"I don't give a fuck what Elijah said, Caroline!" He snapped. "You don't get to leave me now. Not after this!"

"I'm not leaving you!" She yelled back. It was only after this initial reply that she wondered if he could somehow force her to stay. No, she decided. He couldn't – not with Elijah at the other side of the door. "I just – there might be something there that can help you."

"And there's nothing I can say to stop you?"

"No."

"Get out."

Her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden coldness of his voice. It was like a switch turned on and he was instantly a different person. She stuttered.

"Get out!" He yelled at her.

She got off the bed, fearful of his loud yell. She opened her mouth to speak, but he got off the bed, going after her, shouting at her to leave. She had no choice now. He wasn't giving her one. She had to leave now. And so she did.

With a huff, Klaus watched the door close in front of him. With Caroline now on the other side, he knew the once she got to Mystic Falls, she would not come back to him. Why would she, when everything she loved was there, waiting for her? He wouldn't wait for her, he concluded. Why bother? This was the last he would ever see of her.

He could hear her cry on the other side of the door. If he wasn't mistaken, he could hear Elijah consoling her. That was the last he would hear of her, he realized.

"She's gone now," a cold female voice echoed around the room.

He turned to where the voice was coming from. His breathing stopped at the sight of his mother, standing across from him. "You're not real," he relied with his guards instantly up. She couldn't be real.

She laughed a bitter laugh. "How do you know?" Walking up to him, she touched his shoulder.

It was real. He could feel her icy hands over the fabric of his shirt. It sent shivers down his spine, igniting anger in the very depth of his dead heart. He moved away quickly. How dare she touch him?

"You see, my son, I am very real. I am more real than your petty childish attraction to this Caroline girl."

"Stop," he replied stiffly.

"I'm afraid I've seen this before, Niklaus – you, dancing around a girl who has no feelings for you whatsoever. It's boyish," she told him in a scolding voice. "Didn't your father teach you better? No weaknesses, remember?"

"She's not," Klaus replied.

"I'm afraid she is," Ether said. "All is well, however, my boy. She's gone now." Taking a step forward, she raised an index finger to her son's cheek and wiped a stray tear that fell from his eyes. "She won't come back," she assured him. "No one would ever come back for you, my son."

_She won't come back_, Klaus repeated to himself, wordlessly.

_No one would ever come back for me._

* * *

Caroline walked into Ethan's room, quietly. She looked at him. His shaggy brown hair fell to his face as he sat on the bed, cross legged, fiddling with Kol's phone. He looked up at her, his eyes not fearful or joyous, rather neutral.

"Hi," she said, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"Hi," he replied, looking away fom her. The phone was still in his hand, radiating quiet music from the game he was preoccupied with.

"I know I haven't really been around and neither has Klaus," she began in a nervous tone. "I'm sorry about that. I know we should be better," she told him.

Silently, she questioned what she meant by 'better'. Did that mean she was going to spend more time with him? Send him to school (how did one even go about enrolling a child into school)? Maybe, buy him more things? Or maybe, 'better' meant just sending him away to a place where he would not longer be endanger. Maybe, such a place existed, although she had yet to find it herself.

"I'm going to try and be better soon," she promised. "After I come back," she added in a tone clearly expressing caution.

"Come back?" He turned off his game and placed the phone down next to him on the bed.

"I'm leaving for a little bit, but I'll be back soon," she explained vaguely. "You're going to stay with Kol," she told him firmly. "God knows why, but you like Kol…"

"He's a vampire too, right?"

She sighed at this, her hands instantly covering her eyes. "Just stop, please," she begged, her voice covered in her exhaustion. "Stop with the vampire questions. I can't do this right now." She could feel him staring at her, his eyes innocent and childish. "I'm sorry, I…" she trailed off, not knowing exactly what she was apologizing for. Maybe, it was for her outburst, maybe for the overall neglect, or maybe just for being a vampire. "I'm going to be back in a few days," she changed the topic. "And hopefully, everything is going to be better after I come back. Klaus won't be sick anymore," she promised. "Hopefully," she added.

Ethan didn't say anything to this, so she got off the bed and made her way to the door. She turned around, before walking out of his room. "Things will get better for you…for everyone…I promise."

"Okay," he replied in a whisper.

She nodded confidently, leaving the room. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it, taking a long breath. She had been barely breathing throughout the last nine days, always either sad or nervous, or scared. She needed this breath for what she was about to do. She took another long breath, calming herself, trying to rid herself of all negative energy. She was a positive person, she decided. God knows, she needed to be positive if she was going to survive the next few days.

"Mystic Falls, here I come."

* * *

**Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter. There are so many things I want to say right now, but most of it will probaby give away what happens in the next few chapters. I'll just say that w/o Caroline, things may get a bit darker for Klaus, but don't get too mad at Caroline for leaving just yet! **

**Please, please, please leave reviews! **

**Also, follow me on tumblr, if you want: i-enjoy-you**


	22. Familiar Faces

**I really just can't thank you guys enough for all your support on this fic. I was actually really lacking motivation to finish this chapter and your reviews and kind words actually helped me so much. Thank you guys! **

***deep breaths* Hope you guys don't hate this chapter. The next one will be better, I promise!**

* * *

Leaning against the wall, Klaus slowly slipped onto the floor, his legs no longer holding him up. Very lightly, he hit his head against the back wall. This wasn't to inflict pain but to feel something – anything. He wouldn't feel for much longer, he realized. In a number of years – maybe ten or twenty – he would have a higher pain tolerance and a broken scull would be equivalent to a paper cut. Soon, his body would adapt to his self inflicted pain and all he would have left would be the hallucinations, with no way to stop them. It was an unwelcomed thought and one he hoped would leave his mind. It didn't.

He was going crazy. He was going crazy and not just from the insanity in his own mind. He was going crazy, being trapped within these four walls, no sunlight, nothing at all. He missed the feel of the sunlight on his skin, or the sound of raindrops during a rainstorm, or the smell of the outdoors in the middle of winter. He wanted Caroline back. At least when she was on the opposite side of the wall, he wasn't alone. She was the one that held on to the one small shred of sanity he had left, and now she was gone.

"Klaus?"

He raised his head to the sound of Caroline's voice. She was in the room with him, standing before him, her expression tender and soft. Her blond locks fell to her shoulders, covered by a black leather jacket, matching her dark blue jeans and black boots. They clicked lightly against the floor as she made her way to him and sat down next to him. He kept his eyes on her, trying to distinguish between reality and insanity.

"Caroline," he whispered, blinking in disbelief that she was here. A wave of hope shot through him and he tried to suppress it, telling himself it was too good to be true.

"I couldn't leave you," she confessed. Leaning to her left, she playfully nudged their shoulders together. He smiled at this and she smiled back.

"Really?"

Her lighthearted smile quickly turned into a scoff. "No, what are you kidding? I packed my bags and got out of here. _Ran_, actually."

His smile vanished at the cruelty in her voice and he got off the floor, taking four or five long steps away from her. "You're not real." Silently, he hoped that saying this out loud would make her disappear, but he knew better. It didn't matter if he knew she was only in his head, she would still stay to torture him.

She shrugged.

"Oh, Niklaus, you haven't changed…" a soft female voice lingered in the cold air of the room.

Klaus looked to where the voice was coming from. It was a voice slightly deeper than Caroline's and one he recognized instantly. It brought back more painful memories than he ever cared to remember, memories he never could get rid of. "You're not real," he said again, more to himself than to the two women before him: Caroline and Tatia. "You're in my head – both of you."

"You must be Caroline," Tatia turned to the blonde standing next to her. Slowly raising her hand, ever so elegantly, she smiled. "I'm Tatia, Klaus' first love. Pleasure to meet you."

Caroline raised her hand to shake Tatia's.

_This isn't happening_, Klaus repeated in his mind for what felt like the hundredth time.

"You are aware he's in love with you, aren't you, dear?" Tatia asked in an informative manner, as though this was obvious.

Klaus raised his head from the ground, horrified. "I'm not," he told the brunette he once loved. He didn't sound as confident as he would have liked.

"Huh," Tatia replied with a huff. Placing both hands on her hips, she leaned to her left, placing all her body weight on her left leg. "You've changed, Niklaus," she said unsympathetically.

Klaus shook from the way she said his name. He hated his full name. It was the name his father gave him and it served as a constant reminder that he was his father's son; weak, pathetic, Niklaus Mikaelson. He kept his thoughts to himself.

"The Niklaus I remember always wore his heart of his sleeve – metaphorically speaking, of course." She circled the room, her walk still as graceful as he remembered. "I remember your ever so romantic comparisons…" her voice trailed off for a moment as she continued pacing the room. "You would talk about the depth in my eyes…the color of my lips…"

"He drew me a horse!" Caroline said eagerly. "Oh, and a bracelet that he said he stole from some princess."

"Very chivalrous," Tatia replied in approving tone. "Tell me, Niklaus, was this done so that you could bed her, or because -"

"Stop talking!" Klaus yelled, interrupting her. He looked at the two women and they stared back at him. "Just shut up!" He growled. "Both of you, shut up!"

* * *

Mystic Falls was the same as when she left. The town was still small and quiet, the streets still calm and boring. There was nothing exciting to catch Caroline's attention. She really didn't miss this small town, only the people in it. She had heard and read books about people talking about coming home with such excitement and happiness, but she didn't feel any of that. She felt nervous, sick to her stomach. She felt a longing to go back to Klaus and make sure he was okay. She wanted to be anywhere but this little town. It wasn't home anymore. Something was missing – she just wasn't sure what it was yet.

"Here."

Rebekah's voice broke through Caroline's thoughts, forcing her to look to her left, at Rebekah. She was holding a small, black gun, pointing it at her. "God," Caroline jumped back in surprise. "Could you be any more obvious?" She scolded, pushing Rebekah's hand away from her.

Rebakh looked around the small roads around them as they walked to the Mikaelson mansion. "There's no one here," she observed, her tone making it clear that she was confused by Caroline's over the top reaction. The only two people near them were the two men she had compelled to help them with the luggage. With the gun still in her hand, she pushed it back to Caroline.

"I don't want it, I'm not shooting anyone."

Rebekah scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Right, because draining them of blood is so much more civilized."

"I don't want to do that either." _I can't do that_, she mentally corrected herself.

"It's a miracle you're still alive," Rebekah replied under her breath. Caroline had made it clear she wasn't taking the gun, despite Elijah's suggestion that she do so, so Rebekah placed it back into her purse. After all, it was Caroline's mistake and she wasn't her mother, so it was not her job to try and talk some sense into the little blonde.

"You remember how we didn't talk for hours?" Caroline asked suddenly, her eyes looking forward. "I'd like to go back to that, if you don't mind."

"You should be thanking me," she reminded her. "You think I want to play bodyguard while my brother is rotting away in a basement?"

The reminder of Klaus made Caroline shiver. She took a breath, trying not to think of the hell he was trapped in. "I told Elijah not to make you go," she replied as they made a left turn and ended up directly in front of the Mikaelson mansion. Caroline watched Rebekah pull out a small key and open the sturdy doors, walking through them. Caroline followed, instantly looking around the room. While it looked different than the castle, they did have one thing in common: they were both made for the lonely, lacking the warm feeling of home.

"We need to go find this Shane person…" Rebekah said under her breath and as she put down her purse. She motioned for the two compelled men to bring in her and Caroline's luggage and drop it in the living room.

"Okay," Caroline agreed. "I need to find my mom first."

Rebekah turned her attention away from the two men, dismissing them, and faced Caroline. "We don't have time for family reunions."

Without a word, Caroline turned to leave. _This will be quick_, she told herself. After all, she couldn't allow herself to step back on the grounds of Mysic Falls and not see her mother. She could hear Rebekah let out an aggravated groan and follow her out of the house.

"You don't have to follow me," Caroline said.

"With your luck, the second I let you out of my sight you'll get killed."

* * *

Caroline stood outside her house for a few minutes, counting the breaths she took in preparation for seeing her mom again. The house was the same, just like everything else in Mystic Falls. It had the same sturdy walls; the same chair in the front; the same small rose garden, lightly covered in melting snow. This was returning home, wasn't it? In any book she had ever read and any movie she had ever watched, returning home was something wonderful and comforting. She felt bad for not feeling happier. She was scared and uncomfortable. She didn't feel like she belonged here anymore.

"Are we just going to stand here, or…?" Rebekah's voice trailed off, letting the question hang amongst the silence for a few long seconds.

Caroline ignored her, taking a long breath, before walking towards the front door of the house she used to call home. She stood silent for a moment, unsure of whether she should just walk in, or knock. Both seemed unnatural, like a strange thing to do. Raising her head steadily, she knocked on the door. The door opened almost instantly and she was met with a familiar face; her mother's face, with her blue eyes brightened by the sunlight. Caroline smiled nervously, but her mother stayed frozen. "Hi mom," Caroline greeted, now even more nervous.

Silence.

"Caroline," Liz said, letting out a long breath as she said her daughter's name, finally breaking the quiet. Grabbing Caroline by the shoulders, she brought her in for a welcoming hug, dragging her inside the house.

Caroline hugged her back, reluctantly, inhaling the familiar smell of her mother's hair. She wanted so badly to believe that Liz had nothing to do with the council members hurting her and Klaus. She wanted to believe the best of her mother, but it was so much easier said than done. Freeing herself from her mother's hug, she turned to Rebekah, who was still standing outside, not having been invited into the house. Caroline turned to her mom, her brows raised. "It's okay, she's helping me," Caroline told her mother.

More silence.

Caroline wasn't entirely certain what compelled her to do what she did next, but she demonstratively walked outside and stood next to Rebekah. She let out a sigh of relief, hearing Liz reluctantly invite Rebekah in, and they both proceeded into the living room. It was a risky move, Caroline realized, and one that she was glad worked out in her favor.

"I don't have a lot of time, I just…I wanted to see you," Caroline explained awkwardly. She looked around the room. Like with everything else, nothing had changed. Everything was exactly as it was when she left.

"What do you mean you don't have much time? You're leaving again?"

Caroline nodded, hesitantly.

"Where?"

At this point, Caroline was certain that if her heart could beat, it would be beating out of her chest right now. "Back hho-" She gulped in a breath, stopping herself from saying the word 'home'. "I came back because I need to do something," she explained. "The council found Klaus and me few weeks ago…but I guess you already knew that." That last part came out with more attitude than she had intended. For a second, she was taken back to a few years ago; a time where she was a typical, selfish teenager, showing her mother attitude when things didn't go her way. Except, she wasn't a typical teenager anymore. Nothing about her life was typical.

"No, I didn't," Liz replied, taken aback by the accusation. She took a moment to analyze her daughter, standing a few feet away from her; she was okay, at least physically. "I knew they were looking for you. I didn't know that they found you."

Caroline crossed her arms defensively. "So you wanted them to find us." Her tone, again, held a silent, judgmental accusation.

"I wanted them to bring you home to me, not hurt you, Caroline."

"Well, that worked out," Caroline replied sarcastically.

"You've been gone for months and the first thing you do when you come back is accuse me of trying to hurt you -"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Caroline interrupted. "Except this time, I wasn't the one hurt – Klaus was," she spit out angrily. It was only after she said this that she realized what she had done; she sided with Klaus. She held her breath, silently waiting for something drastic to happen. But, nothing did. The world was still spinning, nothing had exploded, and nothing changed. She sided with him and the world kept going. _She was okay_. "I came back to help him," she added.

"You trust him now?"

"Yes." She was surprised at how quick and honest that reply was.

"Over me?"

Caroline didn't say a word. She didn't know what to say, really. She wasn't entirely certain when this happened, but maybe she did trust Klaus above everyone else. Maybe it was stupid, but it wasn't a feeling she could control, even if she tried.

Liz took a few steps back, her eyes growing in horror. "You're in love with him."

"That's ridiculous," Caroline dismissed instantly. Yes, they were not having the most plesant conversation, but there really was no need to spew out things like this; untrue things. She could feel her cheeks burning red and Rebekah staring at her. She stayed perfectly still, silently wishing a mirical would happen and she could just fall through the floor beneath her feet and be transported to any other place, because – at this particular moment – any place would be better than here. She cleared her throat. "I should go."

"Caroline –"

Caroline raised a hand, stopping her mother's sentence. "I'll be back," she assured her. "I will, I promise. I just – I need to do something. I really don't have a lot of time for catching up."

And just like that, she was out the door, trying to ignore the guilt she felt at leaving.

* * *

Tatia and Caroline were gone now. Both of them. At least for now, anyway. In a strange way, he missed them. At least with them torturing him, he wasn't alone, trapped within four walls. Now, he waited. He wanted for someone else to come along, telling him he wasn't worth a damn. Hearing it became easier as he came to terms with it. After all, getting mad at the truth was a hard thing to do. It was easier now, to accept that he was unlovable.

He wanted to leave this room, to no longer be trapped like a dog in a cage. He longed to leave these four walls behind him and run. That's what he wanted, he wanted to leave. No, he _had_ to leave. These four walls only drove him closer to insanity and the thought of being outside made his skin burn with excitement. Silently, he began wondering about the different ways he could escape, without Elijah stopping him. With his strength back, if he put all his effort into it, he could punch through the walls of the castle and break free. That was option one, he thought.

Hearing someone on the other side of the door, he raised his head eagerly. He blinked, waiting. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating again. Taking a chance, he made his way to the opened door and touched it. It was really there, it was really open. He could hear breathing, erratic and fearful. He looked to his left, to where the breathing was coming from. And then he saw it; the person responsible for his metaphorical ray of light.

_Ethan. _

* * *

"I'm exhausted," Caroline whispered under her breath. They had just returned from talking to a guy named Shane – a professor that Elijah insisted they go see. It took a while, but eventually he revealed that in order to end the hallucinations, a new – 'potential hunter', as he called it – had to kill a vampire. One huge problem with that: where were they supposed to find a potential hunter?

Rebekah ignored Carline's words, making her way back to the Klaus' safe. She could see Caroline, out of the corner of her eye, sitting down on the couch and watching her attentively. Paying little attention to Caroline's stares, Rebekah opened the safe, taking out a stack of various papers.

Caroline sat up on the couch, looking at what appeared to be letters. She got off the couch and stood next to Rebekah, looking at them. She stayed silent.

"Nik's collection," Rebekah informed, stepping away so that Caroline could get a better look.

Caroline stared at the letters in front of her. Sitting down in front of the safe, she picked one up. It was written in 1591, to a man named Daniel. "What is this?" She asked Rebekah, her eyes never leaving the letter. Rebekah said nothing and Caroline didn't press further. She picked up a different one; this one written to a woman, from a man. They were all love letters, every single one of them. Some were stained and wrinkled, others in perfect condition. Her mind began racing through all the possible reasons Klaus could have these. One particular theory made her especially nervous.

"All of these people…they were his victims?" She asked, although her gut told her she already knew the answer. She turned to Rebekah, who nodded in response, her arms crossed as she stood looking down at her.

_This is sick_, she thought. It wasn't right, memorializing deaths like this. It was bad enough that there were over a hundred letters and even worse that the letters served as a keepsake, maybe even a reward for killing those people. All of these people…they all had someone that loved them, someone that missed them once Klaus took their life. The letters proved it. It was twisted and disgusting, and it made her stomach turn in knots.

It was then that it dawned on her that Rebekah did this very intentionally. For whatever reason, she wanted her to see this. "Why are you showing this to me?" Caroline demanded. Rebekah only shrugged in response, so Caroline asked the question again, this time with more force.

"You should know," Rebekah replied simply, revealing no other answer in her tone or expression.

Caroline scoffed. "I should know," she echoed. "I don't want to know this, did you ever think of that!?"

This was too much. Not just the letters, but all of it; feeling guilty over Ethan; being responsible for the bad shape Klaus was in; her mother accusing her of loving Klaus – how ridiculous; and now the letters – all of this in a matter of days was too much for one person. She was just one person, carrying all this weight. Feeling anger swell up in her chest, she took one of the letters and slowly ripped it in half.

"What are you doing!?" Rebekah hissed at her.

Caroline didn't reply. There was no need to reply, mainly because she had already ripped the letter and what was done cannot be undone. She didn't quite understand why she ripped the letter, but it made her feel better. It made her feel better….so she took another one and did it again. And again. And again, until all the letters were ripped to shreds, ignoring Rebekah's comments and attempts to stop her.

"He'll rip your heart out," Rebekah warned.

"He won't lay a hand on me," Caroline replied with confidence. Taking in a shaky breath, she stared at her mess – the mess of ripped love letters. Honestly, she wasn't as confident as she sounded. He would be angry at her, she knew that. While a part of her feared the consequences of this, she was almost certain that she didn't regret ripping a single one of those letters. In fact, if there were more, she could rip those too. None of those letters were his to keep. He had no right to store them like this.

The sound of Rebekah's phone ringing broke through the silence between them. She answered it. It was Kol.

Caroline could hear what was on the other line, if she concentrated hard enough, but she was otherwise preoccupied with the letters still in front of her. She silently wondered just how angry Klaus would be once he found out. What would he say to her? What would he do? And then, all too suddenly, Rebekah's screech jolted her out of her thoughts.

"What do you mean he escaped, Kol!?" Rebekah yelled.

"Who?" Caroline instantly got off the ground, concentrating on Kol's voice on the other line. Hearing something horrifying, she quickly snatched Rebekah's phone away from her and put it to her ear. "What do you mean you _LOST_ him!?"

* * *

**This isn't the best chapter that I wrote, I know, but I hope you don't hate it too much. The next chapter will make up for it, hopefully.**

**Please leave reviews, if you have a minute!**


	23. Caroline

**You guys, your reviews - I can't even explain how happy they make me. I don't know if it annoys you that I start each chapter with a thank you, but I really feel like I have to because you are all just so wonderful to me! Thank you so much!**

**Here is chapter 23, and I really hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Kol raised his head quickly, taken aback by the loud slam of the door. He got up to meet Caroline, who was practically fuming at the mouth. He opened his mouth to speak, but she pushed him and he took a few steps back, trying to regain his balance.

"You LOST HIM!?" She screeched. "He is not a dog, Kol, you can't just lose a PERSON!"

She tried to push him again, but he swiftly grabbed both her wrists and brought them together. "I got enough of this from Elijah, Caroline. I really don't need this from you," he told her in a warning tone. "My patience is very thin," he informed.

"Right, because mine is unlimited!" She yelled.

"My brother wouldn't harm you," he told her. Lowering himself so that they were at eye level, almost nose to nose, he said, "I am _not_ my brother. I will not hesitate to find a way to silence you."

She pushed herself away from him. "You don't scare me," she said with confidence.

He smirked. "That's a mistake."

"Where is Ethan?" She demanded.

Saying nothing, he pointed above him, and followed Caroline as she raced up the stairs.

Caroline burst through the doors of Ethan's bedroom, ready to yell. She stopped dead in her tracks, seeing Ethan crying. Suddenly, she wasn't angry anymore – not at him. She wasn't sure how that worked, but seeing him cry made her less angry at him and more sympathetic. She did not want to yell at him, she wanted to hold him. She sat down on the bed. "What happened?" She asked.

He said nothing, wiping the tears away with the back of his hand.

"Now is not the time for you to stay quiet, Ethan," she said in a strict tone.

"I'm sorry," He whispered.

"What happened?" She asked again.

"I went to see the horses and there was yelling," he began explaining in a shaky voice. "You said he left and would come back, but he didn't leave – he was in the room," he continued in an accusatory voice. "The door was locked."

"So you obviously got the key," Caroline connected the dots. Turning to Kol, she said with an attitude that could be felt through the entire room, "It was probably really easy considering Kol probably wouldn't even be able to keep a goldfish alive."

"He's alive, he's just not here!" Kol defended, his arms raised in a motion of surrender.

"What did he say to you?" She turned back to Ethan.

"He said he was going to go look for Caroline."

* * *

The girl wouldn't stop squirming. It was irritating, to say the least.

"Stop!" She begged him, with her brunette locks falling over her face as she tried to break free.

Klaus could hear the girl's heart practically beating out of her chest. There was no rhythm in her heartbeat. Rather, it sounded like the sound a small child might make, if he were to erratically beat a drum set senseless. He knew this fear was supposed to bring him a feeling of joy, like it used to, but it didn't. He hated himself not enjoying it. He cursed at the girl under his breath, tying her hands together with a nearby rope. She tried to yell, but he quickly placed his hand over her mouth, effectively stopping any sound she wanted to make. Feeling a sharp pain in the palm of his hand, he quickly took the hand away from her mouth. She bit him, that little snot! He growled in response, displeased. He looked around at his surroundings, trying to see what he could put around the girl's mouth to make her shut up.

"Ah," he said happily to himself, spotting what appeared to be an old t-shirt. He turned back to the girl and cocked his head to one side, pressing his index finger to his lips, motioning for her to stay silent. "You'd do best to listen to me, sweet pea."

She looked at him with fear and hatefulness, tears flooding her eyes. "I have a family, you know?" She croaked out.

Klaus smiled. "That's a nice try." Grabbing hold of the old t-shirt, he ripped it in half, making it easier to tie around the annoying girl's mouth. As he brought the ripped shirt closer to her mouth, she jolted her head back. He raised a brow at her move, torn between further annoyance and amusement.

"Don't, please!" She begged tearfully. "I won't yell, I swear."

"Will you stop talking?" He asked. "There's just something about your voice…it's very annoying."

She said nothing, only continued glaring at him fearfully.

He sighed in relief, thankful for the silence, and sat down before her. He took a moment to analyze the girl. She was a typical girl, dressed as all typical girls dress in the 21 century; unflattering sweatpants, a t-shirt that was covered by those puffy, ugly winter jackets. She was too skinny, but he was in no position to be picky, was he? He had difficulty telling human ages, sometimes, but if he had to guess, he would say this girl was in her twenties. She was beautiful, if only she'd clean herself up a little bit. Her tears wouldn't stop forming, but he didn't know how to ease her mind. It wasn't something he knew how to do, and it wasn't something he had ever wanted to do before.

"I'd compel you, but I'm not quite myself, sweetheart…in more ways than one, mind you," he said in a soft tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Shhhh," he soothed her. "Didn't we agree, no talking?" She said nothing, and he smiled at that. "There's a good girl."

It was then that a sudden thought dawned upon him. What if she wasn't really there? Perhaps she was merely a hallucination? He got up suddenly, looking down at her, confused.

* * *

Caroline and Elijah walked briskly through the cold streets of Paris, a tense silence amongst them. They had been walking for hours, looking into every possible corner, and Caroline felt tired – like her legs were about to fall off. Elijah would stop every few people and mutter words in French that Caroline couldn't understand. She safely assumed that he was asking about Klaus. With each unhelpful person, Elijah grew more and more irritated, his anger barely suppressed.

"What did you find out?" He asked suddenly, his voice as cold as ice.

She hesitated for a moment, because she had not really found out much. She and Rebekah returned the second after Kol's phone call. "In order for his hallucinations to stop, a potential hunter needs to kill a vampire," she replied.

"I assume you don't know of a potential hunter."

"No."

"Caroline!" Elijah stopped abruptly.

"What?" She looked at him.

"No," he said, pointing behind her.

Caroline turned around to where Elijah was pointing. They had ended up near what appeared to be an abandoned area, with a small lake house only a few feet away from a lake. On the lake was a large boat. Much like the lake house, the boat looked to be falling apart and uncared for. Someone did care for the boat once, however. It had a name;

_Caroline._

* * *

The girl wouldn't shut up, making him realize that she was in fact real. Even his hallucinations were better than the sound of quivering lips and shrieking, trembling voices. She made a few efforts to scream. Needless to say, she was now gagged, quiet and obedient.

"Why is she still alive?" A voice said.

Klaus looked up, seeing his father standing next to him. He looked back at the girl who glared at him with an unwavering hateful glance. "I took her because I wanted to feed, but I have a problem," he answered his father.

"What's the matter, son?" Mikael asked without sympathy. "Too weak to kill her with your bare hands?"

"I don't want to," he replied with ease. It wasn't that he couldn't, but that killing like this seemed…wrong, somehow. He was a vampire – a hybrid, actually – and he should be able to kill as one. He shouldn't have to strangle and torture the way an ordinary human would. No, because he was not ordinary.

"Pathetic," Mikael scolded.

And with that, Klaus picked up a knife that he had found earlier. He took a moment to look at sharp blade. He ran his index finger along it, feeling every little bump along the blade. Hearing the girl sob, he gave her a sympathetic look. Oddly, he didn't want to kill her and her fear annoyed him.

"Caroline is gone, Niklaus," Mikael said in an informative tone. "She was only holding you back, don't you agree? She was a weakness."

Klaus stayed silent, looking at his own reflection in the blade.

"Now that she's gone, you can be who you really are; a killer, without a weakness."

In one swift motion, Klaus ripped through the sleeve of the girl's shirt, exposing her bare arm. Due to her endless squirming, the ropes around her wrists had cut through her delicate skin. He could smell the blood coming from her. Taking the blade, he ran it along her skin. It was soft at first, as he was testing his will to continue with more force. The girl leaned away from the knife, foolishly thinking it would save her, so he held her in place with his free hand. Her cry was stifled by the t-shirt he had placed around her mouth, but it was still a clear sign of fear. He ignored it, watching the knife cut through her skin. He began at the top of the shoulder and slowly moved his way down her arm, as the girl squirmed in her seat from the inflicted pain. Blood unleashed, beautifully running down the girl's arm. With his thumb, Klaus followed the trail of blood, collecting the red drops. The girl's face became even more horrified as he placed the thumb to his mouth, lightly sucking at it.

He could feel the girl shake under his grasp as he softly tilted her head, giving him easy access to the veins in her neck. He longed to pierce her skin with his fangs, feeling the blood flow into his mouth and down this throat, but he couldn't. Now aggravated at the thought, he swiftly ran the knife across her neck, unleashing a quick stream of blood from the vein he had cut through. The sweet smell of blood clung in the air, quickly triggering the appearance of the veins under his eyes. He could feel his eyes grow heavy with blood lust, turning yellow.

Slowly, he moved his lips to her neck and hovered over her torn flesh. With his tongue, he put an abrupt stop to the blood flow, for no reason other than that he could. Removing his tongue from the wound, the blood flowed into his mouth freely. He sucked at the wound harshly, until he felt her heartbeat slow. No longer feeling hunger, he shifted away from her, removing the blood on his lips with his thumb.

Mikael was gone now, and it was just him, alone again. The girl was unconscious. He felt no satisfaction at what he had done, like he should have. It wasn't a source of enjoyment. He kept his eyes on her lifeless body, keeping his fingers tightly wrapped around the knife.

Weakly – and perhaps selfishly – he made a silent wish that Caroline would return. If was a pointless wish, he knew; one that would never be granted.

And then, all to suddenly, he could hear everyone's voice; Esther, Mikael, his siblings, Tatia, all of them. They were telling him to turn the blade on himself, as he was no better than the unconscious human before him. He was worse, in fact.

They all hated him; they all told him so. Their harsh voices echoed all around him and for a long moment he contemplated how sweet the release of death would be. Although immortal, he could die for a moment, could he not? Perhaps slitting his throat would grant him a few moments of peace. It was a nice thought, one that brought a small smile to his face. Without hesitation, he brought the knife to his neck.

It was then that something stopped him; a familiar sound. It was a voice, like all the other's he was hearing, but it was different. It was different because it wasn't spewing out hateful things. They were words of concern.

Caroline's voice.

"Please be here," Caroline begged. She stood, looking at boat in front of her. Listening in, she could hear movement inside and took a few steps towards the boat. "Klaus if you can hear me…" she whispered, practically begging. Her lips parted in relief, seeing a tall figure immerge.

Klaus took a moment to look at her, to really take her in. The knife in his hand fell to the ground, making a small sound against the floor of the boat.

Caroline smiled as he made his way towards her, fighting the urge to run to him and wrap herself around him. She watched him get off the boat. She tried to stay in place, yet she couldn't help but take two small steps towards him. Her eyes widened in surprise as he eyed her, from her head to her feet and then back up, and began walking away from her.

"Klaus!" She called out to him, but he kept walking.

Elijah had quickly made his way onto the boat, to inspect the surroundings and to clean up the inevitable mess Klaus had left behind.

Caroline walked after klaus, grabbing him by the shoulder and swinging him around to face her.

"Leave," he commanded. Quickly, the fingers of each hand found his temples and rubbed soothingly. "Get the hell out of my head," he whispered under his breath.

"No, no, I'm actually here," she assured him. "I'm here, I came back."

"You would never come back for me," he dismissed harshly, taking steps away from her.

She walked after him. "But I did."

He stopped walking suddenly and turned to her, his expression hard and full of mistrust. "Prove it," he commanded.

She stuttered. "I can't," she said. How the hell do you prove something like this to someone in his state? "I'm just…here," she added carefully. He began walking away, dismissing her once again. She called his name, effectively grabbing his attention once again, and he stopped and faced her. Taking a breath, she took a few slow steps towards him. She didn't know what to do, so she went off emotion.

Slowly, she raised herself up so that she was standing on her tip-toes. Their noses touched lightly and her eyes closed, breathing him in. Her hands found his shoulders, keeping him to her. He remained stiff under her touch, not pulling away but not moving closer. Raising her chin softly, her upper lip graced his and she could feel his breath on her. Moving her hand from his shoulder, she could feel his stubble with the palm of her hand. He tilted his head – only a little – maybe she only imagined he did, because she wanted him to so badly. Letting out a small breath, she captured his lower lip between hers and kissed him. She wanted so badly to deepen the kiss, but she was scared. Scared he would pull away; scared he wouldn't believe she came back for him. She was weak at the knees but she couldn't allow herself to hold him closer and hold onto him, like she usually would. He didn't make a move and she slowly counted to five, in her mind, hoping with every fiber of her being that he would respond somehow. Opening her eyes slowly, she mentally prepared herself to pull away.

And then it all changed. She felt his lips move under hers, hesitantly kissing her back. It was soft, innocent, but it was enough. She pulled away, leaving a space between their lips as their foreheads and the tips of their noses touched. Only half a breath worth of time passed, before he pressed his lips against hers again. Without any hesitation this time, he swept his tongue across her lips, inviting him into her mouth. A soft moan left her and a smile brought life back to her face, as he did this.

This was the feeling she was missing, she realized. This is why Mystic Falls no longer felt like home. Somewhere along the way – she wasn't sure exactly when – home stopped being a place and became a feeling. Home was here; wherever this indescribable warm feeling was, putting a fire in her heart. Maybe this exact spot, in front of an abandoned lake house - was home, or maybe Klaus was home. With this feeling, she found something she had been searching for this whole time; belonging. If he was home, then it meant she belonged with him. She knew it should scare her, but for a reason she couldn't understand, it didn't. Not anymore. It wasn't terrifying, like it should have been, instead it was comforting.

With his eyes still closed, he could feel her as she kissed from the corner of his mouth to his cheek, until she got to the crook of his neck and buried herself in him, taking a deep breath. He couldn't understand why she did this; why she held onto him the way that she did. Her warmth surrounded him and he couldn't understand why she offered it to him, so freely and without hesitation or reservations. It was free and it was his to keep. He didn't deserve it, he was certain of that, but – by some sheer miracle – he received it from her. Selfishly, he accepted the warmth – if only for a few minutes. Taking her in his arms, he held on tightly. He could smell her warm cent and hear the blood rushing through her veins. He let out a shaky breath, praying to gods he didn't believe i; praying they wouldn't take this moment away, praying she was as real as she felt.

Opening her eyes, she could see Elijah walk from the boat, carrying a young girl. She didn't want to know, she decided. Not now. She wouldn't ruin the moment.

"Let's go," he heard her whisper. She pulled away from him and he reluctantly let her go, knowing she wasn't his to keep and knowing the warmth she gave him was not meant for someone like him. The fingers of her hand intertwined with his and they began to walk back to the four walls that would once again trap him. He thought of trying to escape, but he was certain that Elijah would drag him back into that room even if he had to walk through the depths of hell to do it. Somehow, the thought of it didn't seem as horrifying as it had hours ago, not with Caroline walking next to him.

"You're wrong, by the way," Caroline said suddenly.

"About?"

"When you said I would never come back. You were wrong."

* * *

**This chapter is shorter than I expect it to be, but I do hope you enjoyed it. Please, please review and let me know :)**

**P.S. Their troubles are not over just yet ;)**


	24. 3 Words

**You guys, thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! As always, I am so grateful for them and they mean so much to me! I'm sorry that it took me a bit longer with this chapter (I shall never again try to write two fics at once) and some of you had to "push" me to spit out this chapter. It's not very long and I'm sorry for that! The next chapter is a long one!**

***sigh* I really hope you guys don't hate me by the end of this chapter.**

* * *

Elijah left to look for a hunter the night that Klaus was found, a week ago. In the mean time, Ethan spent most of his time with Kol and Caroline spent most of her time in the basement room with Klaus, and 'tired' was an understatement for how she felt. It's selfish to think about how tired she was, she told herself, especially when Klaus was going through so much worse. If she was tired from watching it, she couldn't even imagine how tired he must have been from living it.

"I miss you," she whispered to him. He was sleeping – or at least that's what it looked like; his eyes were closed and he was resting on the bed, not making a sound. "I know you're right here, but…I miss you. I decided it doesn't matter if that's not how I'm supposed to feel," she told him. "I was thinking about it and you can't really control how you feel. It's like trying to control a thought that goes through your head – you can't always do that. So, you can't control how you feel. And I feel…I feel like I miss you. I wish you were here with me. I mean really here with me."

She ended her quiet ramble and the room stayed silent for a few minutes.

"I'm right here," he replied, breaking a sad silence.

She smiled at the sound of his voice. "Hi."

"Hi," he replied, opening his eyes. For a second he wondered if she was really there with him. He turned to her, looking at her saddened blue eyes and her hair swept up in a tall ponytail.

"You've kind of been out of it all week," she informed.

"Six days," he corrected. He felt each hour.

She stayed silent for a moment. Her hand found his hair and her fingers intertwined in his curls. "Can I ask you something?" She asked suddenly. It was something that had bothered her since his very first hallucination, when he chased her out of the room. "Why are you so mad at Tatia?" She asked cautiously. She later came to the conclusion that he thought she was Tatia, when he was chasing her.

There was a short silence and then a quiet laugh escaped him. It was not a laugh of humor, but hesitation. "Of all the things to talk about…"

"It's just that you seem the angriest when you think it's her in the room," she told him. With anyone else, like Mikael or Esther, he became sad.

"I'd like to stop the therapy session, if you don't mind," he replied abruptly and coldly.

"Okay," she replied simply, choosing to ignore his tone.

There was another moment of silence and then, very suddenly, the room door flung open and Kol barged in. Without a word, he closed it back and leaned against it, idly.

Caroline stared at him, but he did not say anything. "What are you doing?" She asked finally.

"Waiting."

"For…?"

"Elijah called. He found a hunter and got him to make a kill."

"Who was the hunter?" She asked, sitting up on the bed.

Kol shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. Whoever he is, he did his job."

And with that the room fell silent and they waited. An hour passed and Klaus was fine – tired looking and irritable, but fine. Shortly after, it was becoming clear that a new hunter had been born and Klaus was free of his insanity. Kol opened the door quietly, inviting Klaus out of the room. The three of them gave one another a glance and Caroline bit back a smile, slowly becoming happier and happier that he was now okay.

Before Klaus could make a move out of the room, Ethan burst through the doors.

"Ethan," Caroline broke the silence, surprised at his entrance. Ethan said nothing to her, his eyes plastered to Klaus, who stood in front of him. Caroline watched, uncertain of what to do.

"You left," Ethan said evenly.

"Yes," Klaus replied in the same tone.

Ethan pointed to Caroline. "She said you weren't feeling well. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Are you better now?"

"Yes," Klaus replied with uncertainly.

Caroline and Kol watched as Ethan, without hesitation, took four swift steps towards Klaus and wrapped his small arms around him. Caroline smiled, touched by the childhood innocence she saw in Ethan, despite everything he had been through. She kept her eyes on Klaus, who did not make a move, not back and not forward. He stood in place, his arms at his sides, the confusion becoming clear on his face.

"Take him away," Klaus finally said icily.

Caroline's eyes widened, in surprise. "Klaus—"

"Take him away!" He shouted, pushing Ethan away. "Now."

Caroline stared at Klaus, anger flaring up at his insensitivity. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kol and Ethan leave the room. She turned to Ethan and gave him a sympathetic look, before turning back to Klaus. "What the hell was that?" She asked, once she could hear Ethan and Kol upstairs.

Without a word, Klaus walked around her and made his way out of the room he had grown to hate more than anything else on the planet, leaving Caroline alone.

* * *

Caroline hadn't seen him for hours after he left her in the room. She made her way upstairs and talked to Ethan, to make sure he was alright, and found out that he was just as confused by the scene as she was. Kol warned her then, telling her that Klaus changed drastically after the 'last time'. More than anything, this made Caroline worry. It was unfair, she thought to herself. It didn't matter how hard she tried to remain positive, there was always one problem lining up right after another and it was starting to seem as though she would never get a moment of peace.

Unsure of what to expect, she made her way to the top floor of the castle. She could hear him in his bedroom, so she opened the door hesitantly. Judging from his look, it appeared he had just gotten out of the shower. He stood in front of a mirror, shirtless and with his jeans hanging loosely on his hips, running a comb through his wet hair.

"Are you okay?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes," he replied sharply.

"Do you want to talk…?"

"No."

She hesitated, not knowing what to do. He wasn't himself and he wasn't talking to her. "Do you want anything?"

"Yes."

A short silence lingered in the room for a few long seconds. She watched as he set his comb down on his dresser and turned to her. He didn't say anything, and neither did she. He walked to her slowly and within a few moments, she could feel the touch of his lips in her hair. She moved forward in response, so that her face was at his chest. Cupping her face with his large hands, he brought her face up and lowered his head, connecting them at the lips. It was gentle at first and then more urgent, and then even more urgent. At the feeling of being scooped up in his arms and his lips at her neck, she tenderly kissed at his bare shoulder, holding herself tightly to him.

It was funny, Caroline thought, how all doubts managed to disappear with the touch of his lips against hers. Maybe it was foolish, but it did not matter to her in that moment. She would not ruin this feeling, this indescribable, amazing feeling. He was finally back to normal and that made her happier than she had been in months.

"I love you," she whispered against his shoulder. It was an accident, saying this out loud. She did not mean to. Up to this very second she had never once entertained the possibility of loving him, yet she said it and she meant it. Nothing had changed as she voiced this sudden realization; the world was still spinning like it was seconds ago. _I love him_, she thought to herself.

He stilled at her words and she could feel him slowly releasing her from hold. For a moment, she imagined that he would say it back to her. In a moment of complete innocence, she imagined how good it would feel to have him say it back to her. He didn't say it back.

"Don't say that," she heard him whisper against her ear.

She stayed quiet, a sudden discomfort taking over her body. He was stiff against her now and she quickly realized she might have made a mistake telling him. He released her from his hold completely, taking a few steps away from her, and she looked up at him.

"You shouldn't have said that," he told her bluntly. He looked angry.

She stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. His expression, as cold and unfeeling as it was, left her at a loss for words. Not giving her a second glance, she watched him leave the room and close the door behind him. She felt a sudden sharp anger at this. She opened the door and walked after him as he made his way into one of the study rooms.

"You know a _thank you_ would have been less humiliating than what you just did!" She said, her voice more hostile than she intended.

He raised his head to look at her, saying nothing.

"You know, for someone that is so desperate for love, you sure are quick to push it away."

He raised his brows, growing angrier with her. The anger rose quickly within him and he wasn't entirely sure how to stop it – he wasn't even sure where it was coming from, as intense as it was. His mind flashed quickly to the day she told him she would never love him. Funny how time changed things, he thought. Or maybe it hadn't changed her feelings at all. It was more likely that she would take back those words eventually. Maybe, if he didn't accept her words now, they would be easier to let go of once she inevitably told him that she didn't love him at all – that no one could love him. After all, she said it to him once and she would say it again. This he was certain of.

"I've told you before," he said, "this is not a topic I will discuss with you. And despite the days you have spent watching me go out of my mind I feel it necessary to inform you that you know very little about me."

"I know more than you think," she replied, raising her chin fearlessly. "I found something interesting when I went back to MysticFalls…your letters."

He said nothing, his look impassive.

"I ripped them…all the ones I found," she confessed.

He bit his lower lip, trying to quell the anger that was quickly turning to rage. "You need to leave," he told her.

She took a step back from him but stayed in the room, her face expressing her complete shock at his reaction. He looked at her, making his anger with her crystal clear, and she stayed in place, silently going from anger to sadness, slowly. She kept her eyes on him as he abruptly turned around and left the room.

Seconds later he came back with a checkbook and a miniature globe. "Pick a spot – anywhere you want. I'll make sure you have everything you need once you get there."

Her mouth popped open and she stammered on her sentence for a second. This was possibly the most humiliated she ever felt in her young life. "Are you being serious right now?" She asked, making a silent prayer that this was some odd nightmare.

"I'll make sure you're happy wherever you choose," he said.

Tears were flowing down her face now and she didn't know how to make them stop. With a sniff, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She looked at him, trying to figure out what was going through his mind. For a small second it appeared as though he was doing this out of some twisted kindness – like he thought what he was doing was good for her. Angry, she took the globe from his hands. She stared at it blankly for a few moments. Pressing her lips into a hard line, she angrily threw it at him. He dodged it effortlessly and it made her even angrier.

"I don't know why you're doing this," she said with a sob, "but I didn't say anything wrong. You, you need to figure out whatever the fuck is wrong with you – why you're punishing me for saying that I _love_ you – and you need to figure it out fast because, until then, we're done here. I'm done here."

"Caroline," he called her back quietly as she turned to leave the room.

She stopped in her tracks and faced him at once. It was with the way that he so tenderly said her name that she went back to her initial feeling of anger. "I hate you," she spat out bitterly. "Do you feel better now? Do you like hearing me say that?"

"I'm sorry," he whispered under his breath.

She nodded as though she understood, although none of this made sense to her. "I hate you," she said again, the bitterness and anger thick in her voice.

And with those three words, he watched her leave.

* * *

**Please don't hate me for doing this LOL. Just keep in mind what he has been through the past few weeks, how often he was tortured and basically told that he was unlovable, the toll that must have taken on him, and his unique ability to be his own worst enemy.**

***slowly leaves***


	25. A Reason

**Wow, you guys, I am so sorry for how long this update took! I don't even know why I was lacking the drive to finish this chapter. I'm sorry and I will try to be faster with the next update! I know it's a short chapter, but if I made it longer and didn't cut it off here, you guys would be waiting longer for the chapter and I didn't want that.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews and for the few of you that actually sent me inboxes! Thank you, I really appreciate that! **

* * *

"What's that?" Ethan asked into the other line.

Caroline fumbled through a set of paperwork, muttering apologies to Ethan for the noise. Saying she was stressed was an understatement. If anything, this new project only reinforced that if you want something done, you need to do it yourself. Asking for help will only come to bite you in the behind. Once she got to MysticFalls, she got her compulsion powers back (or maybe before she left, she wasn't sure), and now she found herself fighting the urge to compel everyone working on this project with her.

"Just papers," she explained, taking her phone off speaker and putting it to her ear. "I'm listening, I promise." She put the paper work away and sat down on her newly purchased couch. There was a short silence between them. "I'm sitting, I 'm listening, I promise," she said again.

"What if no one likes me there?" He finally asked.

"At school? Of course they'll like you, don't even worry about it."

"I'm starting in September," he reminded.

She smiled. "I remember, September 5."

"You say that like it's a long time away, but it's not," he told her as though he thought she did not understand the passing of time.

She smiled again, happy at how chatty Ethan was. He was getting better, she noticed, talking more. From what Elijah had told her, Klaus had him enrolled in therapy for two times a weak.

"It is a long way away and if you worry about this from now until then, you'll ruin your whole summer," she said.

"Will you be there?" He asked quietly.

"Where?"

"During the summer," he specified.

She hesitated. "I don't know," she said honestly.

"You're not talking to Klaus and he wastes time, at least an hour every day, lying in bed. Then he wastes time pacing and thinking. He wastes time being quiet and not saying anything because he's afraid he'll stutter," Ethan explained.

Caroline's mouth popped open, instantly recognizing how unlike Ethan it was to say something like that. "You read that in a book, didn't you? You need to stop reading so much."

He didn't deny it. "Still you should talk. He's angry all the time," he said.

"I'm not _not_ talking to him, Ethan. He's the one avoiding me," she explained after a short silence. Glancing at the clock, she gasped. "Ethan, I'm late for my meeting. I'll call you later, okay?" He mumbled an okay in response and she hung up, practically running out her front door and down the busy streets of New York.

After her break up with Klaus – if you could even call it that – she went back to Mystic Falls, and spent the next month feeling sorry for herself. Her mother, although she pretended nothing bothered her, often looked at her with hidden resentment. No one except Stefan really spoke to her, not that she expected them to. She was alone in Mystic Falls; a place that was no longer home to her.

Longingly, she would sit in her plain room, struggling to sleep, and think about the beautiful streets of Toronto during the holiday season, or the wonderful things in Paris. Stupidly, one day, she made a wish that Klaus would come back and show her the rest of the world. As the thought entered her mind, she found that she was angry with herself for having this thought. Klaus was not coming back, she told herself bitterly, and there was no reason that she could not see the world on her own. With a positive thought following a negative, she decided to take this as an opportunity to be independent.

Now, two months later, she was running down the streets of New York (which was only a temporary stop), cursing the world for causing her so much stress. Of course, she signed up for it all on her own – no one forced her into it.

"You did this to be a good person," she muttered to herself, trying not to get her feet wet from the puddles of last night's rain. "Charity is important," she told herself.

"Caroline, you're here. Finally," a man said.

Caroline looked up at the sound of a voice that she had come to recognize all to well. It was the voice of the most repressed and tightly wound, annoying, man she had ever met. Not qualities you would expect from someone managing a children's aid charity event, right? He was one of the many stresses Caroline was forced to put up with.

"Kevin, I was –" She cut her sentence short, seeing him annoyingly raise an index finger to her lips and hush her. She took a step back, ensuring there would be no further contact.

"Sit, we need to talk organization," he told her.

He ran a hand through his dark brown hair and pressed his thin lips together, guiding her to the nearby café and leading her to a seat right in the middle. Caroline would have preferred a window seat, but she said nothing. It wasn't worth the argument, and he was already angry at her. People in Mystic Falls thought she was a control freak! She was convinced that no one knew the true meaning of the name, until they meet Kevin; the man that freaked out each time someone was a minute late.

"I am aware that you are doing this as a volunteer, but punctuality is not optional," was how he began this latest lecture. How ironic, Caroline thought to herself, that she – of all people – would ever be on the other end of these lectures. Thankfully, since the event was tomorrow, they did not have much time to waste on pointless lectures. About three sentences into his speech, she was able to talk her way into discussing the seating arrangements for tomorrow's event.

Kevin cleared his throat uncomfortably, hoping to get Caroline's attention. He did not, and she continued fumbling through her charts of seating plans and floral arrangements. He cleared his throat again, louder this time, and she looked up. "There is a man staring at you and I feel uncomfortable," he informed with slight irritability.

Caroline turned her head almost 360 degrees, trying to find anyone who was looking at her. Her eyes skimmed past a business man on his computer (probably hanging out there for the free wi-fi), a young girl getting napkins for her table of friends, Klaus, a little kid that wouldn't stop crying, another business man and – wait – Klaus. She stood up instantly; her eyes bulged out in surprise. Kevin opened his thin-lipped mouth to protest, but this time it was her that shushed him.

She made her way past the tables. "What are you doing here!?" She hissed at Klaus, still a few steps away from him.

"Not quite the greeting I wanted, but I suppose it could have been worse," he replied with a smile, getting out of his seat.

She defensively crossed her arms and stubbornly shook her head no when he pulled a chair out for her. "What do you want?" She fought the urge to look at the way his dark jeans clung to his hips, his v-neck shirt, or his smile. Her look remained as impassive as she could manage.

He smiled, unaffected by her tone. "I was hoping you would get some coffee with me," he explained.

"Your plan was to just stare me down until I came over?"

"No, my plan was to eventually walk over and compel the man you're sitting with to get lost – not literally, of course."

She scoffed. Secretly, it was nice to see him again, but after what he did there was no way in hell she would run to him with open arms. "I'm busy," she told him. "And don't you live in Chicago? You came all this way to have coffee with me?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" He asked with a smirk.

"No, it sounds exactly like you, actually, to do something like that to me," she replied without hesitation. Her arms were still crossed and her voice coated with fake irritability. "Like I said, I'm busy," she said as she turned on her heels and walked away.

She watched him from the table out of the corner of her eye. He left a few minutes after she sat back down, so she was left to continue her discussion in peace, although, she was far from being at peace. She replayed, in her head, the thousand different ways that conversation could have gone and all the things they should have said to one another but did not. In her head, she knew that the way she acted was for the best. She didn't want to put herself out there again and get hurt. But, in her heart, she wished that she had treated him differently. Now that he was gone, it seemed surreal; like he was never there at all.

* * *

She walked home in a daze, everything around her becoming a blur. She was angry with him, angry for the way he handled things and angry for showing up in her life again, as though nothing happened. What was she supposed to do? Pretend like nothing happened and ask him how his day was? No, she wouldn't do that. Why should she? No, she shouldn't, she told herself again as she opened the doors of her apartment.

She stopped in the doorway, her eyes widening in surprise. Klaus was sitting on her couch. Judging by his drink, it appeared he took the liberty of going into her fridge and helping himself to anything he liked.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, dropping her keys on the table. "How did you get in? Better, how do you know where I live?"

He smiled. "First question: I came to see you. Second question: You need a better lock. Third question: Figuring it out wasn't difficult."

"So, you're stalking me?" She asked, getting herself a cup of water and sitting down on the couch next to him.

He drained his drink and set the empty glass on her coffee table. "I prefer to think of it as looking out for you."

"Right, because that's what you do…take my feelings into consideration."

She scoffed, her anger at everything getting the better of her. She got up, looking at him for a few seconds. He remained sitting with his usual arrogant, cocky smirk. Without a second thought, she took her cup of water and splashed it at him. It didn't make her feel better, like she expected it to. It wasn't like in the movies.

He got up instantly, his hands at spread out at his sides. "I suppose I deserve that…"

"You deserve worse!" She exclaimed. "You can't do that, you know? You can't just come back like nothing happened, Klaus." He opened his mouth to speak, but she wasn't done. "You didn't talk to me for _two months_. You avoided me like I was your worst enemy –" she broke off, taking a breath to calm herself. "How could you do that to me?" She whispered.

He hesitated, not quite knowing what to say. He didn't think she would make him have this conversation this quickly.

"You went through a lot…I've tried my best to understand that, to understand you. I thought maybe you were scared…maybe because you thought I didn't mean it. Or you were scared because you felt it too…or maybe you didn't…I'm rambling." She stopped herself to look at him, but he still said nothing. "You didn't have to say it back," she told him frankly. "I said it because I felt. I expected nothing from you."

He stayed silent for a moment. "I should have reacted differently," he replied honestly. "I haven't spoken to you since because I did not know what to say."

"You didn't think that maybe I had things to say to you? I talk to Ethan almost every day, each time thinking you might ask for the phone and say something."

He stayed quiet.

"Doesn't matter anymore," she said suddenly, annoyed by his silence. "I'm moving on…trying to."

He raised his brows. "And what if I told you I don't want that?"

There were a million snarky things she could have replied to that, but her heart was winning this round. She took a breath. "Then I'd tell you to give me a reason to change my mind."

A hesitant smile formed. "Okay."

"Okay."

She kept her eyes on him, waiting for him to say something else. He didn't. Instead, he grabbed his jacket off her coat hanger and tossed it over his wet shirt, and walked off.

"That's it?" She called after him just as he was about to close the door behind him.

"I'll see you soon, Caroline," he said, closing the door.

* * *

**The next chapter is the last one, just FYI, so it will revea****l a few things in terms of their "curse" and some things will be tied into a nice little bow (lol). **

**I hope you guys don't hate the chapter too much! Leave a review, if you have a minute, please :)**


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